Think.

The high school bus is an interesting place.

A place for fun, laughter, insults, dumb remarks, and...tears.

No.

It shouldn't be a place for that.

Today something happened that changed my perspective on what I do. Some kids were ganging up against one kid, tossing insults and expletives back and forth across the bus. Then we pulled up to their stop and a lot of kids began to clap and cheer, taunting the kid with their heads out the window. After that the noise faded to idle chatter between people.

Then one boy spoke up. "Think about what you just did." He said in a strong voice and it was almost like he cast a spell over the kids on the bus. Everyone fell silent to hear what he said. "Sure, he looked like he didn't care, about what you said, about what you did. But did you ever think about what he feels?" His voice began to quiver and a solitary tear streamed down his face.

"You guys taunt me constantly, behind my back, over and over. And I'm sick of it."

Then apologies started flowing. One boy asked, "Why're you looking at me?" The other boy replied, "Because you're the one that makes fun of me the most." And then the boy that asked him got up and shook his hand and apologized.

So I guess the moral of the story is to think about what you're doing before you speak, okay?