Journal Entry 11

Journal Entry 11: October 9th

I couldn't stop thinking about what happened with Mark the other day. It left me feeling uneasy and I knew I had to talk to him. After class, I asked him to stay behind and I told him that his behavior was inappropriate. He seemed genuinely remorseful and apologized. He told me that he didn't mean to make me feel uncomfortable and that he just wanted to let me know how much he admired me.

Things seemed to be going well and I genuinely thought that I had gotten through to him. But as soon as the conversation was done, he leaned over and kissed me on the cheek...

It was a quick peck, so fast that I thought I had hallucinated at first. I couldn't believe that he would do something so inappropriate, especially after we had just talked about respect and boundaries. I'm still trying to process my feelings about it, but part of me can't help but wonder if I did something to encourage him.

I was too stunned to comment on what had just happened and Mark just rushed towards the door. As he was about to leave, he called out that he was right about how nice my hair would look and then he suggested that I should try wearing sundresses. Before I could react, he was gone.

Looking back on it now, I realize that I should have been more firm with him. But at the time, I just felt so awkward and uncomfortable that I didn't know what to do. I hope that Mark understands that what he did was wrong, and that he doesn't try anything like that again.

It's a shame that things had to end on such a sour note, because otherwise things at school have been going pretty well. I've been making some great connections with other teachers, and I've even started to get more involved with the school's extracurricular activities. Yesterday, I went to one of the soccer games and cheered on our team. It was a lot of fun, and it reminded me of how much I love being part of this community.