In this week’s journal entry, Isabella demonstrates kindness through the themes of conflict resolution meeting new people, making new friends, and taking responsibility. She shares how these themes allowed her to express kindness by being honest (even when it’s difficult), overcoming friendship difficulties, learning from mistakes, and doing better next time.
Being the new kid is hard, especially when you’re in a whole new country that doesn’t yet feel like home. When Isabella starts hanging out with the Ponysitters Club, she sees her chance to have a group of built-in BFFs who share her love of animals, but she’s scared that she might get voted out of the group because she isn’t as close to the others. In “BFFs” (S01E04), she decides to make sure that doesn’t happen by dividing the Ponysitters from each other and bonding with Skye, but she quickly learns that friendship only works when everyone is on the same team.
Dear diary,
I had a hard day today, but now that it’s over, I’m glad that I did. I feel a lot less nervous than I did before — instead of worrying about seeing the other Ponysitters, I’m looking forward to it!
I guess I’ve been a little rude to Trish and Olivia lately. I didn’t mean to be, but now that I look back on it, it’s definitely true. When I offered Skye my extra manicure coupon, I thought it would be a fun activity to get to know each other better. But after seeing Trish, Olivia, and Skye all finishing each other’s sentences, I got jealous. I used to be able to finish my friends’ sentences too, but they’re all still in Brazil, and seeing how much fun the Ponysitters were having made me miss my old friends. I wanted to convince Skye to be best friends with me, just like she was with Trish and Olivia.
I should have just been happy for them and looked forward to getting to know them better, but I wanted Skye to be my best friend right away. When we were getting manicures we were finishing each other’s sentences and making plans to go on tour, just the two of us. But later, when I suggested Skye and I groom the new donkey together, I could tell Trish and Olivia were upset. I only wanted to spend more time with Skye, but I realized what I was really doing was hogging her to myself and keeping her from hanging out with the others. I guess I was scared that if I couldn’t make her my best friend right away that I might never make new friends.
When Trish confronted me about it, I realized that I was trying to make friends the wrong way — making friends shouldn’t make anyone feel angry or jealous or left out. They told me how I was making them feel, and I explained how I was feeling. They helped me realize what I was doing, and I apologized for hurting their feelings. It was hard to tell them that I was feeling lonely, but I guess being honest about how you’re feeling can be hard sometimes. When they forgave me and told me that I’ll always be a Ponysitter, I knew I finally had new, true friends! I’m so glad they were honest with me and gave me a chance to be honest with them — next time we disagree, I’ll feel much better about speaking my mind.
Did you know that kids can become a real member of the Ponysitters Club? Learn how to join and be sure to inspire your kids to be doers by downloading the 4‑H Inspire Kids to Do Activity Guide!
