I also believe that the thing that has taught my daughter most of the positive traits on that list is being marginalized and discriminated against herself. She
looks for ways to support and be kind to others, and to be more inclusive-- something which is all too rare among her peers. Well, not HER peers, because she's kind of picky about the company she keeps in a lot of ways-- but her peer cohort, perhaps I should say.
They think nothing of excluding others, and are really dismissive even when someone like my daughter gently (but assertively) says; "Hey, did you think about...."
At the same time, I'd say that my daughter's self-esteem is probably "not awesome." She's very hard on herself.
I think it is wonderful that your daughter figured out to take something that happened to her that was a negative and turn it into a positive for others!! Standing ovation here, because this is the type of mind set that we need going forward.
Bad things are going to happen, of course they are! We can't prevent them no matter how hard we try. It is how we react and respond in the face of adversity that defines who we are and who we will become.
I think your daughter must have more self esteem then you recognize because it takes a lot of courage to stand up for someone else. She sounds like me, actually. I have very strict standards for myself, my husband often tells me that no one can possibly live up to the standards that I set. I don't know if it is an idealist personality type or just the fact that you intuitively know that x results in y, and feel frustrated when others can't recognize that which feels obvious and/or necessary.
I am sorry your daughter struggles with authority and I hope that one day she will recognize in the greater scheme of things, most of the time authority is a positive thing. Until then, I guess that is their job to give us grey hair!!!
