My journey in becoming a bullying prevention specialist was not something that I expected to happen. In fact, it took my life in a whole different direction, a direction that I had never envisioned for myself.
I was one of those people that never had a career choice in mind ever since I was little, so when I graduated from high school, and San Jose State University excepted me, I went in undeclared. I took a variety of courses; psychology was one of the classes that I enjoyed tremendously, understanding by people behave the way that they do intrigue me. I remember the day that I told my Dad that I wanted to become a Psychologist, he very seriously told me that he thought that would not be a good career choice because he saw that I tended to take on people’s problem as my own.
He was spot on, I was 20 years old, and I did not know how to set healthy boundaries, it was not a skill that I learned in my family, in fact growing up in a dysfunctional home the boundaries changed all the time. Looking back now I understand what my Dad was trying to do; he was afraid that I would end up in a job that would take a toll on me emotionally. So, I tucked my love of psychology away and decided to major in Business, after all, “you make a ton of money with a degree in Business,” well it didn’t turn out that way for me.
I ended up dropping out of college when I applied for a management job and was promoted to the position. Who needs a degree when you have the management job, lololololol, I was so young. Fast forward about 20 years and my family, and I moved to a beautiful town of Don Pedro, and I had the opportunity to quit my job and take a break from the career grind.
I took my kids to the back to school night at the elementary school that they were attending, and I saw a young woman with the most beautiful smile, she was manning a table and looking for someone to fill a job of Bullying Prevention Coach. The thing that drew me most to the job was that it paid $15.00 an hour, it was part-time, and it was 10 minutes from my home.
I was hired for the job, and it changed my life and the direction of my career. When I started to work with the kids and implement the program, it was like the heavens opened and this realization that this is what I was put on earth for. Everything that I had done in life and been through gave me all the skills needed for the job.
I made the decision a few months ago that I wanted to share the knowledge that I had gained over the years in bullying prevention. So here I am starting this blog and hopefully empowering parents to raise children that can deal effectively with bullying behavior. I have decided that I will concentrate on information geared towards parents that have kids 0-5. Laying the foundation for raising resilient kids is where I want to zero in on.
I hope that you will find the information that I provide informative and empowering. I find that so many parents are resigned to the fact that there is nothing that they can do about their child getting bullied except homeschooling or camping out at the school so that they can provide protection. I am here to assure you that as a parent you have all the power; information, education, and persistence is the key. Oh yeah and courage, parents, and educators will tell you that there is nothing you can do, it is hopeless and just surviving is the way. I hope that with my blog you will find that this is not the truth, there is plenty that you can do. I am so glad that you have decided to take this journey with me, it should be an interesting ride.
Aloha, Kim
Bullying Prevention Specialist 