A week or so ago, I got to spend a day in St Pauls Community College in Waterford. Of all the workshops I’ve done, this is the most surreal for me, as this is where I went to school, where I was bullied, and the place I swore I’d never set foot in again. I’m so glad I did though.  

St Paul’s has come a long way since I was there. The girls were lovely and got involved in the workshop from the start.

However, most impressive was the girl who offered to read her apology to the entire group. Here’s what she said..

I don’t know what to say, but I am sorry to everyone I have ever spoken badly about. Sorry to all the teachers that I made coming into school so hard for because they never asked me what was wrong and I realised it wasn’t your fault. You didn’t know.

I promise that I’ll try to stop being a heartless bitch. I promise I’ll try my best to help others and put a smile on your faces.

I can tell you all that it put a smile on every face in the room to hear that. We also heard from another girl who wanted to say..

I apologise to the people I took out my anger on when things were bad for me. I apologise to me. I treated you badly and I did self destructive things because of shit that was going on in my life and at home and that’s never the right path.

Thanks so much for having me back girls. Every last one of you were amazing. You can read some more of their thoughts here…