be strong

December 1, 2019

So I have 3 kids, my youngest, my daughter is 11 now. About 2 years ago she started to find herself on the receiving end of some really horrible behaviour from some girls she’d thought were her friends. My daughter is the kindest, cheeriest and most considerate person I’ve ever had the privilege to know and sees only the good in anyone she meets. To say she was hurt by the cruelty of these girls would be a major understatement. She was truly devastated and it almost broke her. I struggled to get her to go to school and she became incredibly self-conscious and withdrawn. My heart was shattered because what I wanted to do was wrap her up in my arms and shield her from all the cruelty she was facing every single day. However, knowing that ultimately she had to find a way through this for herself, I was desperate for some way of letting her know I was right beside her, even when I wasn’t physically there. Anyway, I was on the Internet late one night and stumbled across Zox. I don’t even remember now why I clicked on the site but the first strap I saw was ‘Be Strong’. I know that I was meant to find Zox at that exact time as that strap was the perfect one to give her, to remind her I was there with her and to keep her little chin up. When I gave it to her she broke down and just hugged me so tightly. I do not say this lightly, but that strap changed her life. She wore it 24/7 and from the moment she received it, things started to get easier for her. She told me that whenever she was feeling sad or lonely (which was very often at that time) she’d look at her wrist and know she was loved and was going to be ok. She’s had quite a number of straps since then (I think we’re up to about 10 now) and each one has been deeply meaningful to her. She never, ever goes a second without one on, she even wears them in the shower, and she says they’ve given her so much strength and support that she can’t imagine ever not wearing one. Her first band will always be the one she treasures most though as it helped pull her back from the edge and allowed her to shine as the beautiful, confident girl she is now. Thank you Jason, Brandon & Jordan. Not everyone can say they’ve changed a life for the better but you guys definitely have.