YES in grade school and on into high school. Reasons for being bullied were probably 50% being a J.W. and 50% being a geek (overweight with glasses and really bad haircuts!) After I was disfellowshipped, I started going to college and was surprised that NOBODY bullied me in that environment, and I was able to make LOTS of friends. It was like a huge burden was lifted off me and I could just be myself. I really felt like I was reborn in those years.
DiscoSandy
JoinedPosts by DiscoSandy
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28
JW's Raised In - Did you get bullied during you Grade School Years?
by BBOARD indue to the way i was raised a jw i constantly felt guilt for trying to act like the other guys and it made me stand out even worse.
to this day, due to this, i nowdays become somewhat physically ill whenever i hear a brother give a talk where he says (many here have heard it in different forms) "if jehovah was looking at you youths in the congregation during school could he tell the difference between you and a worldy person.
" myself and most of the other jw guys during middle school and high school did not have the confidence or the "rough and ready to fight" type of body language so we tended to get picked on.
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What about your JW past are you thankful for?
by nvrgnbk inin the interest of self-healing and finding the peace that comes from being grateful, can you think of anything at all that was positive about having been one of jehovah's witnesses?.
not to be misunderstood with missing something about it, is there something about the experience that has enriched you?.
to answer the question myself, being forced to face the fallacies of the teachings of jwism, i was also prompted to look past those teachings and reevaluate everything i believed in.. that experience was frightening and unsettling, but i'm thankful for it.. i now have a greater appreciation for life in all its wonder than i did when i took it for granted as one of jehovah's witnesses.. i'm more determined now to find meaning in this life, after having lived for so long for a future that was never to arrive..
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DiscoSandy
I'm thankful for the handful of great friends that I had. Unfortunately I haven't seen or spoken to them in over 25 years, and have no idea if they are "in" or "out". But I often think of the great memories we had together just hanging out and having fun. I actually liked going to the assemblies, for the most part. It was a way to get out of the smallish town that I grew up in, meet people from other places, and stay in hotels with swimming pools. The public speaking experience was good - it's pretty easy for me to give presentations and talk to other people about just about anything.
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How Would You Handle Your Daughter Dating A Different Ethnic Person?
by minimus ini know of someone who's daughter is dating a young man from the bahamas.
the girl is 20 and he's 24 and was already married to an australian woman 10 years older than him.
he has no use for his crack addicted mother and he tolerates his younger sister that seems to be on the same course as her mommy.
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DiscoSandy
I married a guy from another ethnic group 23 years ago. He's wonderful and I can't imagine being married to anyone else. I will support my daughter dating anyone from the human race, as long as they are responsible, motivated, and treat her right. It sounds like your daughter is just dating and things may not be too serious at this point. If it turns out to be a long-term relationship, I offer the following advice. There are always going to be some cultural issues when you're in a long-term relationship with someone from a different ethnic background. For example, my husband is from a culture where extended family have a huge amount of power over you in terms of money, decision making, etc. He is called upon continually to help his family out financially and otherwise. This was really hard for me to accept, especially in the early years of our marriage. Cultural difference such as this are not apparent when dating, so it's something to be aware of when pursuing a long-term relationship! If you can't embrace these differences, you need to at least accept them or the relationship will crumble. As a side note - I work with a lady who is turning 70 this year. She confided in me that when she was in her late teens, she was dating a Japanese guy and had fallen in love with him. Her parents were extremely upset and forbid her from pursuing a relationship with him, purely on the basis that he was Japanese. She ended up marrying another dear man, but to this day she regrets her lost love and is upset that her parents did this to her.
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What Are your Favorite Hobbies? Things you do for Fun ?
by flipper inhello folks.
just a little continuation thread of another one i did.
would be interesting to see what fun things people like to do, so we can get to know one another better.
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DiscoSandy
Going for walks - early in the morning and late in the evening
Movies - preferably the non-Hollywood type!
Cooking and baking - trying out new recipes and improvising
Gardening/landscaping - love getting my hands dirty. In the next few weeks I'll be planting about 50 new shrubs/trees/perennial flowers/grasses.
Knitting/sewing - I like starting new projects and sometimes I actually finish them.
Traveling - last year we went to Toronto and New York. I'm working on our next adventure.
Having a glass of wine or Baileys with hubby and just chillin out in his arms :)
Going to all of my kids' sports events - volleyball, basketball, track, and soccer.
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Your most hated Kingdom Songs ever...
by B_Deserter inwe all know that skilled songwriters the brothers are not, so what are your most hated kingdom songs?
the ones that made you cringe when you saw them listed on the km or watchtower?
mine?.
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DiscoSandy
Something that went like this . . . "Let's watch how we walk, and watch how we talk". The canned recorded music was awful, too.
The church I attend now has an ensemble of musicians that play every Sunday. The music is lively and the worship service is so uplifting. We mix it up and sing a variety of contemporary and traditional songs. Quite a contrast !
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What Do You Do for Work / Career?
by BlackPearl ini've been on the board for quite a while now and was wondering, what do my fellow jwdr's do for work, employment or career?
me, i'm in probably one of the most hated careers in america right now.
(not gonna tell you what it is either) but how about you, what do you do to earn a little coin?.
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DiscoSandy
I have worked in the financial services / accounting field for 20+ years (gasp, can I really be that old?!)
My real "career", though, is being a mom and wife. As much as I like my job, my family is truly where my heart is, where I spend the most time and energy, and where I feel the most fulfilled.
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My son is talking about joining the basket ball team.
by Irish Rose ini really hope that he is able to do so.
it is so wonderful not being involved with a group that tells you not to do such a thing.
his dad was on a basket ball team and wrestling in high school, so he's all for it also.
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DiscoSandy
I'm so excited for you and your son! I grew up as a J.W. and was never able to do any kind of extracurricular activities. Thankfully I got out before I had kids of my own. I'm so happy that my kids are able to freely participate in activities they are interested in, without any restrictions or judgment imposed on them. Two of my kids do basketball now - they love it. I hope it works out for your son to get on the team.
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How did you treat disfellowshipped ones in the hall?
by Snoozy ini read another post and thought of this subject..why?.
because i remember someone telling me i couldn't talk to this one lady in the back of the hall because she was disfellowshipped..i was shocked!.
never in my wildest dreams did i believe that was right.
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DiscoSandy
There was an elderly lady who had been disfellowshipped - she probably had dementia and said odd things. We were all warned to stay away from her and pretend she wasn't there. I smiled at her and said hi after the meeting one Sunday, when we were both outside. It was a natural reaction to greet her. Immediately after I said hi, I realized I had done the unthinkable - I had spoken to a disfellowshipped person! I literally had visions of falling through the cracks of the earth at Armaggedon. I was probably 5 or 6 years old at the time. I carried a tremendous amount of guilt around for a long time. I wondered if I should confess to my parents of this great sin. Makes me sick now when I think about it!
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Im off the see The Phantom Of the Opera in a few hours
by Es inhello all,.
im off to enjoy a lovely dinner with my husband and then we are off the see the phantom.. i cant wait, the last time i saw this show was in 1991 and ive been waiting ever since for it to come back to australia.. have a good night everyone.
es.
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DiscoSandy
I'm jealous! This is one of my favorites. I've seen it 3 times and have enjoyed the CD for years now. I think my kids have all the songs memorized because I've played it so many times. Hope you had a great time.
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What is your opinion of these experiences?
by R.F. inone thing that the jws are always proud of themselves over is the idea that they come across individuals that are low in spirits and were praying for help just as they were stopping by in the door to door magazine selling work, thus proving they have god's backing and are being led by angels.
this happened to me sometime recently.
i was out door to door and came across a man that was severly depressed.
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DiscoSandy
That reminds me a story told to us by a circuit overseer about 30 years ago. A hospital patient was in low spirits and desperately praying for help. A bird was building a nest by the patient's hospital window. A scrap of paper was used as part of the nest - the patient pulled it out and found it was part of a Watchtower or Awake magazine. The man saw this as an answer to his prayer, immediately contacted J.W.'s for a bible study.
This was obviously a J.W. urban legend - even when I heard this as a kid my gut reaction was "how could this possibly be true?"