5/26/12

Bullying Needs To Stop.

As some people may know, Mental Health Week just finished, it is only one week long  but people do deal with it on a daily basis;  I've decided to join the anti-bullying campaign bandwagon.  I may only be 13 years old, but I've seen enough bullying to know that this needs to stop.
Bullying can kill. Even if all you do is taunt someone, your words can kill. Bullying-related suicides have become so common over the past few years that we now have a word for it- bullycide.
Did you know that every 40 seconds someone commits suicide, and that over half of all suicides as bullying related? That adds up to someone trying to take their own life because they can't deal with it anymore every one and a third minutes.
Bullying isn't just the stereotypical physical punching and kicking; no, it's often way more than that. There's cyberbullying, emotional bullying, and verbal bullying as well. And that all includes a wide spectrum of things; bullying can be anything from calling someone ugly to shunning them or to hitting them.
I've had my own experiences with bullying, and I think it's time to talk about them.
I guess the first incident started when I was 10, and my father was going through cancer treatment. My best friend suddenly turned against me, and for weeks and weeks she punched me, kicked me, and told me I was worthless, fat, ugly, and stupid. I began to think she was telling the truth, and my self image took a real hit.
This went on for weeks and weeks and I started to hate my body, hate what I looked like. I didn't even snap out of it until she started bringing my family and friends into the equation, and that's when I finally got enough gumption to tell my parents.
We stopped being friends, but to this day she's still there, trying to do things to annoy me and make me mad. It used to bug me, but now I know who she really is, and she doesn't bug me anymore.
I'm going to be honest with both you and me and just say it: sometimes I  get depressed because of many things. It's not extreme bipolar-ness or anything, it's just that all this stuff in my life adds up and I fall into that  trap of depression, we all do.
But I  always get out of it after a little while, because I know somewhere deep down that it isn't worth all the tears and the heartbreak. I know now All those fairweather friends who suddenly shun me for no discernible reason, and all those people who badmouth me when they think I'm not listening- they're not worth it.
And if you're being bullied, remember this: they're not worth it. They're just petty, selfish human beings who hate themselves so much that they have to take it out on others. And anyone who does that to you isn't worth the pain.

8 comments:

  1. You should be so proud of yourself! What a brave post. You're worth it and bullying needs to stop!

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    1. Thanks! It means a lot to me to have such wonderful responses from people! :)

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  2. Alex, what an exceptionally honest, brave and inspiring post. I can't believe you're only 13! I wish I was as level-headed as you when I was your age :)

    The lessons that you've learned through being bullied with stay with you, and they'll help you to become a strong and compassionate woman, with a keen sense of right and wrong.

    Keep being you! You are AWESOME.

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  3. You have written such a deep and wonderful post here! I have to tell you the timing of your post, for me, couldn't be better. You are right. Words can hurt no matter who them come from, but we can't give bullys the power!!
    Well written hun! Keep spreading the word!

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    1. Thanks so much! You're right; we can't give bullies the power. :)

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  4. you are an awesome person and bigger then the bullies keep remembering that.If someone bullies you make sure you tell someone and keep telling someone until something is done.

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    1. You're totally right. A bullying victim ALWAYS needs to tell someone for it to get better.

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