dilemma
Every Wednesday I go to an art class in a local coffee shop. It's pretty laid-back, which is great. However, one of my fellow students, who was not there today, has been the subject of quite some discussion among the rest of us.
She has a teenage daughter, who she claims has bipolar disorder - just as she does herself. The girl gets to come to class sometimes during the summer. Now, I am not a psychological expert, but I must say that this girl doesn't seem very strange to me. For the first time today I got the chance to talk to our teacher about it, she has had students with all sorts of mental problems (common for those who teach at community colleges, I'm afraid) and she doesn't think the girl is all that strange either. The most unusual thing about her IMHO is what a fabulous writer she is! For a teenager she's really good. In fact I had one of her poems taped up on my wall for a while. She's also a budding photographer and sketches well, she's a creative kid.
In spite of this, her mother has no use for anything she does, continually criticises her and puts her down in public. More alarmingly to me, the mother keeps claiming that the girl lives in a fantasy world and makes things up. While this may be true, she claims that the girl makes up stories about how her parents abuse her. Today it comes out that her "story" has a kernel of truth. In other words, the mother has been busy telling the world not to believe the girl. While the kid may well make stuff up, certainly the mother has done a good job of making the rest of the world believe nothing the kid says. And that in itself bothers me a lot. Why would a caring parent lay the groundwork for covering up anything her daughter might say? It smells like a trap to me.
I realize that this is not my business, and there's really very little that I can do about it. For sure if I try to do something I'll probably be the one that winds up in trouble. I try to encourage her and have given her a gift of a notebook and the loan of some anime DVDs (her mother made her give them back). But I'm concerned that if I try to send her encouraging emails her mother may twist this into some sort of internet solicitation or something! I thought maybe if I posted in her page at dA that might work, at least it could be art-related.
I just feel bad about the poor kid :( and I hate to just stand by. What's wrong with letting a kid know she's a valuable person? Grr.
ETA: I had an idea! I just posted a comment at the daughter's page on dA and it hit me! If anyone from my flist reads this and is a member of dA would you mind stopping by and commenting on her work? Obviously don't lie and say you love it if you hate it! But it might really be a boost for her if she gets some nice comments from random people. OK, I know you're not really random but she doesn't have to know that!
She has a teenage daughter, who she claims has bipolar disorder - just as she does herself. The girl gets to come to class sometimes during the summer. Now, I am not a psychological expert, but I must say that this girl doesn't seem very strange to me. For the first time today I got the chance to talk to our teacher about it, she has had students with all sorts of mental problems (common for those who teach at community colleges, I'm afraid) and she doesn't think the girl is all that strange either. The most unusual thing about her IMHO is what a fabulous writer she is! For a teenager she's really good. In fact I had one of her poems taped up on my wall for a while. She's also a budding photographer and sketches well, she's a creative kid.
In spite of this, her mother has no use for anything she does, continually criticises her and puts her down in public. More alarmingly to me, the mother keeps claiming that the girl lives in a fantasy world and makes things up. While this may be true, she claims that the girl makes up stories about how her parents abuse her. Today it comes out that her "story" has a kernel of truth. In other words, the mother has been busy telling the world not to believe the girl. While the kid may well make stuff up, certainly the mother has done a good job of making the rest of the world believe nothing the kid says. And that in itself bothers me a lot. Why would a caring parent lay the groundwork for covering up anything her daughter might say? It smells like a trap to me.
I realize that this is not my business, and there's really very little that I can do about it. For sure if I try to do something I'll probably be the one that winds up in trouble. I try to encourage her and have given her a gift of a notebook and the loan of some anime DVDs (her mother made her give them back). But I'm concerned that if I try to send her encouraging emails her mother may twist this into some sort of internet solicitation or something! I thought maybe if I posted in her page at dA that might work, at least it could be art-related.
I just feel bad about the poor kid :( and I hate to just stand by. What's wrong with letting a kid know she's a valuable person? Grr.
ETA: I had an idea! I just posted a comment at the daughter's page on dA and it hit me! If anyone from my flist reads this and is a member of dA would you mind stopping by and commenting on her work? Obviously don't lie and say you love it if you hate it! But it might really be a boost for her if she gets some nice comments from random people. OK, I know you're not really random but she doesn't have to know that!