We celebrated President’s Day on Monday, but today, February 22nd, is the actual birthday of George Washington. He was born in 1732, and on the same day, two hundred years later, Ted Kennedy was born. Also, on this day in 1848, John Quincy Adams, our sixth president, died at 80.

Today is also Ash Wednesday, plus a designated holiday for walking a dog, cooking sweet potatoes, and being humble.

Another holiday on 2-22-23 (dates vary throughout the world) is National Pink Shirt Day. In 2006, a 9th grader in Nova Scotia wore a pink shirt to school, and bullies attacked him. His classmates decided to take a stand against bullying, brought 50 pink shirts to school the next day, and handed them out as students entered the school. When the bullied boy walked into the classroom and saw the pink shirts, his face told the story: he was stunned but felt supported. Created in 2007 by CKNW radio station,  Pink Shirt Day raises awareness of bullying prevention.

I don’t need to write about the wrongness of bullying, and I’m guessing many of us have experienced it firsthand. Bullies are insecure and likely victims of bullying themselves. Bullies lurk in schools, workplaces, homes, justice systems, churches, hospitals, organized sports, and social media—everywhere and anywhere. There is no discrimination in the realm of bullies; they are male, female, young, old, and every size and color.

I liked the story of Pink Shirt Day a lot. It proves, once again, the power of one. We can tell ourselves there is nothing we can do, but two Nova Scotia boys, Travis Price, and David Shepherd, found the money to buy 50 pink shirts to support a bullied classmate, and CKNW, in 1945, started a fund to help children in orphanages. It grew into an international effort to help marginalized kids. Today, people in nearly 180 countries share their support of Pink Shirt Day through social media posts and donations.

What can we do? One powerful tool is to look the tormentors square in the eye. Always. We can also choose friends who are kind, fun and like-minded, and refuse to encourage a bully’s actions or words by laughing. If bullied, we can walk away, face them with “STOP,” and always report bullying abuse to anyone in authority.

On this multi-national holiday, and every day, choose not to be a bully—develop better ways to walk through this world. Practice the power of you.

Until the next time: Live while you live.

Jennifer Goble, Ph.D., LPC, is the author of “My Clients…My Teachers,” and the blogger and writer of Rural Women Stories: www.ruralwomenstories.com.

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