Dear Daughter,
Wow, it has been a little while since I have written. Life sure has a funny way of changing quickly. Who would have known the journey that you were going to embark on just a few months ago. Just because I think it is important, I have to write the story of what happened back in December. Now, here it is April 1, and I am just now writing about it. There is a reason for that, you see, I have been so angry, so sad about what has happened to you that I lost my will to write. But, it is time to write again.
First, before I write about what happened, I have to tell you that you make me so proud to be your mom. You are comfortable enough to know that you can talk to me and tell me when things happen that aren't right.
So much has happened in the last few months that I don't know where to begin. You are in the middle of the toughest times of your life right now. Back in December, you called me one night while your dad and I were out doing some shopping. I will never forget that phone call. "Mom, I just got the weirdest message from L." You proceeded to tell me that your "best friend" messaged you on snapchat and told you that he has always liked you, that he has always thought you were hot, that he liked you. You responded to him asking why he would be telling you all of these things now, why when you haven't been talking would he say that. He went on to tell you how he felt about you, had always felt about you, etc. and then asked you to send him nude photos. You responded to him, telling him that was a really weird request and why would he ask you that now when you aren't even talking and your relationship isn't even in the right place. You then called me. That phone call led to me calling him. Me calling him led to him calling you and you calling me and saying mom, he was crying, he was yelling, it wasn't him, I know it isn't him.
The next few days were a whirlwind because we did discover that it was not his snapchat, it was someone pretending to be him and using his name. The school got involved, the police got involved, snapchat got involved, and your life turned upside down. For some reason, someone targeted you the only way they knew how. They used your relationship with your best friend as a way to try to get to you. When they didn't get to you the way they thought they would, they did the next thing they knew how to do. They started asking other girls for photos, they managed to get rumors going about you and your best friend, they managed to make you dread going to school. The police asked you not to say anything to anyone, not to tell them about their involvement in the case, not to say anything. You no longer knew who you could trust at school, who you could talk to, who was behind this.
Things at school were only getting worse. Your best friend left school for his safety, you were left to deal with everything on your own. It came down to making the decision that you also needed to change schools for your safety because even though the police were involved, whoever this is was continuing to contact other girls and some girls were coming to you about it. There were also rumors involving the two of you, making it impossible to focus in school. Your grades were suffering, you went into Christmas break relieved that you were getting away from everything for a week but also knowing that things were not going to be better when you went back. You were withdrawing from life.
We made the decision over break to get you thru the first two weeks after break and then to switch schools. This didn't make it any easier going back but you did see an end in sight to having to listen to the daily rumors. During this time, you felt like you had no one. No one understood just what this was doing to you. Other friends pulled back, they gave you a hard time about it. And, the relationship with your best friend was severed. Too much damage was done and you were no longer talking.
The next letter I write though will highlight the good parts of your Christmas break, the ups and not the downs. This issue is still going on to this day. We are waiting right now to see who did this to you. They did catch the person just a week ago. They did tell us that the person was targeting you. They also told us that the person is embarrassed that they got caught, not embarrassed by what they did but just by the fact that they got caught. Will we find out why? Will he be remorseful in the end? What will it be like to face him in court? What will you say? I know what I would like to say but in the end, it is your statements that will tell it all.
I love you so much. I love your courage, I love your honesty, and I love you!
Mom
