Life has sure been busy. Busy doing what? Busy getting my MEANT TO BE book and presentation into schools. Why schools? Because in these times of growing division and adversity, and increasing rates of teen depression and suicide, and Lord knows all the school shootings, youths everywhere need to know the story of my parents' amazing survival over suffering, humanity over hate, love over loss, and triumph over tragedy NOW more than ever. I guess that's why it's been a while since I last posted here. Well, I am here now to bring you up to date and ask for your help.
The youths of today are our future so we better start paying more attention to them today. They need our help. They need our support. They need for us to educate them, empower them, and love them. Above all else, they need strong role models and to be instilled with positive values. They need to know they are important, that they matter, and that they are here for a purpose. They need to believe in themselves and their future, but alas, they are suffering.
I spoke to a school Resource Officer a little while back and asked him, "What are kids so depressed about? What is happening in their lives that is so bad that they want to kill themselves?"
Here was his reply.
"Let me give you a perfect example, Roslyn. I had a 15-year old girl come to me the other day who had slit her wrists wanting to die. I asked her what happened. She told me that her boyfriend broke up with her and that was it."
I looked at him speechless. I didn't know what to say. I don't remember anyone in my high school back in the late '70s and early '80s growing up in Montreal, Canada, who ever cut their wrists wanting to commit suicide. Maybe I was just naïve and didn't know it was happening around me, but it was not something ever known or talked about and I am pretty confident it just wasn't something that kids in my school turned to as a solution to their problems.
It breaks my heart that this young girl was ready to pack it all in because her boyfriend broke up with her. Life is hard sometimes and kids need to know that this is just a fact of life. Things happen to all of us, but it is how we face our adversities and rise above them that helps us gain strength and empowers us to face the next adversity with greater strength and wisdom.
"What about all the bullying?" I asked him.
Here was his reply.
"Bullying is not like it was when we were teens. Back then a kid might be bullied at school, but then they would go home and that would be it till the next day. Now, with the internet and social media, the bullying continues 24/7. There's no relief."
"But what are they being bullied about?" I asked.
He replied, "I had a kid who posted something on his social media about his dad leaving the family. His dad left without a word and never came back. He was very sad and had nobody to talk to about it so he put it on his social media. Next thing he knew, a classmate had spotted it and put as a reply, "Well, of course your dad left you. You're so f'n ugly and stupid, if I were your dad, I would leave you too."
If that wasn't bad enough, this bully's comment sparked a flurry of hurtful comments toward this young man who they barely knew. Some of them didn't even know him at all but jumped on the bandwagon posting horrible things just for fun. How did something like this become fun? How is it that posting hurtful comments to someone clearly reaching out and in pain can possibly be fun? How is it that so many young people have no empathy or compassion?
This is why I tell my parents' story to young people. I tell my parents' story in my award-winning book (https://roslynfranken.com/about-the-book.html) and audio-visual presentation entitled, MEANT TO BE: A TRUE STORY OF MIGHT, MIRACLES AND TRIUMPH OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT (https://roslynfranken.com/youths.html). It is the story of my mother who survived the Holocaust concentration camps in Nazi Europe and my father who survived the Nagasaki atomic bomb as a Prisoner of War in Japan.
My mother was only 15 when she was taken by the Nazis. My dad was 18 when taken prisoner by the Japanese. This makes their story so powerful and relatable for today's teenagers since my parents were their same age. I have told their story on many a school stage to thousands of teens and they LOVE it each and every time. I've had standing ovations which you can see in my latest video.
My parents are incredible role models for today's teenagers. That is why I was the first guest speaker to address the class in Parkland, Florida that was shot into by the gunman in 2018 that killed 17 people. Thanks to the support of private donations, I was able to go there and give a presentation and each student received a signed copy of my book as a gift.
I spoke there telling my parents' story to bring these kids much needed hope and inspiration. By hearing the story, the students learned that people can go through terrible things in life and still find joy in the aftermath. My parents are strong and beautiful examples of this since they are role models for what it means to triumph over tragedy. After witnessing and experiencing the worst of humanity first-hand and with not just days, but years of pain, loss and suffering at the hands of their brutal captors, my parents could have easily chosen to be bitter for the rest of their lives. My parents always chose to be better and not bitter. My parents were the kindest, most compassionate, appreciative and strongest people I have ever known. What better role models could our children have? How could I not share them with the world who needs them so badly, especially our teens?
Young people need to learn about what people like my parents went through in prior generations. It is not just about Holocaust education. My dad was not in the Holocaust. There are millions of people who suffered in WWII who were not in the Holocaust that we must also remember. Kids need to learn about the kinds of discrimination, hate, evil and bullying people like my parents experienced during World War II and what can happen if we don't stop it and start learning how to live together in this world with greater dignity, kindness and respect toward one another regardless of our differences. We need to focus on how we are all more similar than we realize. I have a wonderful story my dad shared with me that supports this point so beautifully that audiences of all ages resonate so strongly with.
All this to say that I am on a mission to speak to teens wherever possible and welcome invitations from high schools, youth organizations, youth camps, Churches and other religious youth groups, and any other ideas you may have for reaching teens. I invite you to reach out to me with any suggestions of where you think I should be speaking. Ideally I will be there in person to address the kids face to face, but failing that, with the power of Zoom and other virtual technologies, I can speak to kids anywhere in the world.
I ask you to share this post with any teachers, school principals, school counselors, school media specialists or any other school administrators you know. I ask you to share this post with any youth groups you know of. You know what? Why not share this post with your teens? They're the ones who can benefit, so let them read this and watch this video. Why not have parents watch my video with their teens and put in a request to the schools to have me speak there and get my book into their libraries and classrooms. The video is on YouTube so you can share it. Let's make it go viral. Let's get people to take notice. Young people need to read the book, experience the presentation and reach out for help when they need it. They need to help each other. I would love to sit down with a group of teens and brainstorm all kinds of projects we can do together to take the learning from the story of my book to the highest levels to help teens everywhere. If you're a teen reading this, I invite you to contact me. You can be a leader in your school and community and we can work together to make great things happen.
For more information about my book and youth speaker program, go to https://roslynfranken.com/youths.html.
If you would like to made a donation to Roslyn's Student Speaking Tour, click HERE.
Donations are not tax-deductible. Donations will appear on your credit card statement under my company name, RF Productions LLC. Corporate sponsorship opportunities are also available upon request
