Change your label; Italy High School students get a unique lesson on bullying
Motivational speaker, Steven Adair, uses humor to discuss the issue of bullying with Italy High school students this past Friday to conclude a week of events during homecoming. (Barry Byers)
Italy High school students were gathered in the band hall to gain some perspective on bullying from guest motivational speaker Steven Adair out of Midlothian.
Adair has been speaking professionally for over 6 years and has been featured in multiple online blogs and media outlets. He has also become one of the leading voices in the youth culture on student identity. Adair has shared his story with thousands of students across the state and will soon be sharing the stage with Missy Robertson from the A&E hit show Duck Dynasty.
Expecting to sit thru a seminar on being told why students shouldn’t bully one another, Adair offered a different perspective mixed with humor and, of course, “the creeper smile,” as he referred to it.
Adair used personal life experiences as a teenager to explain why students may have become bullied in the first place and how everyone can always change their label or stereotype.
Make a mistake as a teenager and you become immediately labeled. Adair covered many of the labels he suffered thru growing up such as the, “the stoner kid,” and the, “weird kid,” and even the dreaded, “Jinx Jeans kid,” to help the students understand how individuals become labeled in the first place.
Adair, himself, had smoked pot once to earn ‘the stoner kid’ label and soon found himself trying to live up to an image that others had created for him. Adair only wore those ‘Jinx Jeans’ once, but once was all it took to be slapped with an embarrassing label.
Adair eventually changed his label thru music by becoming a member of the high school band where he found happiness and acceptance for doing an activity that was positive.
Adair challenged the students to consider how they might be viewed or negatively labeled and to make an effort to change their label if they choose not to accept it. He encouraged them to live their lives in a positive way, figure out what is important to them and avoid living their lives to please others.
Principal Lee Joffre thanked Adair for his efforts and then ended the talks by telling students they were allowed to meet with him in his office if they ever felt like they needed assistance in changing their label.
Steven Adair
Challenge Today… Impact Tomorrow
(214) 794-1317
[email protected]
www.adairmotivations.com
Follow Steven on twitter @ StevenAdair88