“I sat behind these moms at my daughter’s volleyball game the other day. They didn’t know who I was.
While Victoria was playing, they kept commenting on everything she did wrong. They said things like, “With her height, she should be doing this or that,” and “Why would the coach leave her in the game?” They were acting like they knew her and talking as if they had all the answers.
I was getting really upset, ready to either say something or just cry, but instead, I got up and moved to a different seat. In that moment, I didn’t know what to say or how to say it. But after thinking about it, I decided to share my thoughts here:
I wanted to tell them:
- Did you know she’s only been playing on a team for six months?
- Did you know she’s blind in one eye and has no depth perception, so hitting the ball is really hard for her?
- Did you know she cried for days thinking she would never be good enough?
- Did you know she practiced 8 hours a week this summer just to be able to try out for the team?
- Did you know she’s doing an amazing job and that she’s my daughter?
I wanted to say, it’s women like you who don’t know how to lift someone up, and it’s you who teach your daughters that it’s okay to talk badly about other girls.
Just a friendly reminder: Before you speak or judge someone, ask yourself if you really know their story. Have you walked in their shoes?
Choose kindness! Choose love!
And please, for the sake of all that is good, don’t be quick to judge someone you really know nothing about!”
