scars

A mother of my student came to me and told me that his son was questioning his scars from multiple operations done since he was a year old.  Apparently, the child showed another child his scars, and the latter became curious, prompting the first child to ask his mom to find something to remove his scars as he was uncomfortable with them. 

Another day, I observed another mother caring for his son's head as he had open wounds from a minor accident. She mentioned that she doesn't want any scars on his child.  It might look like she wasn't a good mom.

I have many scars, which are not prominently significant, but they are there.  I have one on my forehead, and I am always proud when I tell my students how I got it.  I also have scars on my knee, from multiple accidents from running or from my motorcycle rides. I have one on my cheek, a reminder of my encounter with chicken pox. 

They are scars and with stories.  They make me a person which I find more interesting to talk about.  We can start with the hows and proceed with coping with our life scars.  It makes us unique to have something attached to each of those cuts or bruises accumulated through the years. 

Those scars are all physical, and we also have scars left by hurtful words, selfish motives, and angry remarks.  I have many of them, ranging from ugliness to being soft and different and the colour of my skin. I cried many times but rose up from all those negative occasions. 

I was turned down either because of my preference or color. I heard from my classmates when I was taking my Master's degree that gay people will never ever succeed.  I heard from my application to teach in a refugee camp that I acted soft and spoke unmanly. I got it from my application as a teacher in different international schools, as I am from Asia.  

To be called ugly and an old man becomes hurtful when they are spoken by people you loved, just like when I accidentally heard being referred to as an old man (in a demeaning way) by someone I dearly loved and accepted. It became a scar that stayed fresh even of recent.

There are several lessons learned, and I am moving on with my life filled with scars and stories to share. One day, they will all heal as I become more peaceful in my own space until they are forgotten.