LUBBOCK, Texas — A Texas teenager with unique challenges faced years of bullying, but on Saturday, a surprise event at a local Chuck E. Cheese transformed sorrow into celebration, and showed her she’s not alone.
At 13, Carilyn Truelock, known to family as Cari, has endured relentless cruelty since elementary school, her mother says. Getting colored on in marker, cyberbullying on social media and even being pressured into eating water beads on a school bus were among the worst of it. Her mother, Michelle Lancaster, and her sister, Madilyn Truelock, describe a girl who has known hardship few children should have to face, but also resilience few can match.
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This weekend, the cruelty was replaced with kindness. An organization from New York, the Be a Friend Project, learned Carilyn’s story after it was featured by a news station in Abilene. A teacher from Bushland ISD, which has partnered with the group in the past, organized a two-hour drive to Lubbock for 30 of her students so they could meet Carilyn, shower her with support and show that she has allies beyond her family.
“I didn’t know you were going to be here,” Carilyn said, overcome with surprise and joy as friends, some she barely knew, gathered around her…