| "A recent Cross Jr. topic was "When things don't go my way". The goal of this lesson was for students to be able to learn coping skills for working through the challenges, frustrations, and disappointments that we can face every day. I found out halfway through the day that over half of the students at Cross Jr. were not going to be able to make it that afternoon. I almost decided to save the lesson for a different day when more students would be at Cross Jr.
But as each student came in they each were carrying heavy burdens from the day: feeling behind in classes, getting bullied on the school bus, and a broken water bottle that they just paid for with their own money. For our lesson time, we all sat down and talked about the hard things that happened that day. I explained how things didn't go my way – I wanted everyone to be at Cross Jr! The kids then joined in and shared their struggles as well. We talked about the emotions we felt, things we did in response that we regretted, and the things we handled well. We also talked about different tools we could use to not let our feelings control us. It turned out to be exactly the day we needed – even when things didn't go our way!
The next day, one of our Cross Jr. Mentors went out and purchased a new water bottle for the student who had broken theirs. We plan to give it to this student at the beginning of Cross Jr. next week.
We hope that it is a reminder for her that even when things don't go our way, we can still be a bright light to others and spread kindness – and spreading kindness starts with us!"
-Julia Bills, Mentoring and Education Manager | 
