On September 9th, North Arlington High School welcomed guest speakers from the Breaking the Cycle Foundation. Billed as “Breaking the Cycle of Violence Through Forgiveness”, this heart wrenching assembly had a strong impact on the NAHS students and faculty. The main goal of the assembly was to promote respect for others and to help you find a way to solve problems without using violence. There were three brave speakers willing to share their hardship; a now paralyzed man who hung out with the wrong people when he was growing up, a mother who missed the signs of her son’s depression and took his own life, and a father of three who grew up with an alcoholic mother. All three of these courageous people had one thing in common: they forgave the people that hurt them. Even though the forgiveness process is extremely hard, all three speakers rose above the grief and broke the cycle by forgiving.
During freshman seminar this past Friday, Mr. Dembowski shared some of his personal experiences, which dealt with standing up for the kids that were getting picked on, and even being the kid that got picked on. He couldn’t stress enough that if you are going through a rough time, there is always someone to talk. Whether it’s a teacher, a friend, the principal, your guidance counselor, coaches, parents, or relatives, there are people who do care about you. During Freshman Seminar, Mr. Dembowski encouraged students to join extracurricular activities, so they don’t end up going down the wrong path. He also enforced students to stand up for what they believe in, and don’t let anybody tell them that something is “lame” or “stupid”. Even though the assembly ran for about an hour and a half, the impact it left on the students will last forever!
Link to the website: http://www.breakingthecycle.com
