Hot Topic: Bullying

So obviously one of the hot topics right now that all talk shows, morning news shows, celebrities, magazines, etc are doing stories about right now is bullying, and rightly so. There are 11/12 year olds out there, killing themselves because they are being bullied in school. Most of the stories emerging are ones of boys being outed as gay, and subsequently taking their lives, need I mention Tyler Clementi, the Rutgers freshman, the most recent of the stories to come out on bullying? It's awful that these pre-teens and young adults feel that's all there is. These young boys were tormented into feeling like outsiders and never got the chance to be out in the world where there are more accepting people than the small minded communities they found themselves in.

And don't think it's just boys facing this problem, and causing the problem. Girls are just as guilty. For some odd reason, girls are awful backstabbers that seem to get overlooked because they do things more underhanded. There was a scene in the movie, "Remember Me" that comes to mind. The character Caroline, is the 11 year old sister of Robert Pattinson's character, Tyler. She goes to a good school and is in love with art and drawing. In fact, she even has an art show at a gallery featuring her work. But because she is different, the other girls in her class make her life hell, culminating in inviting her to a slumber party, only to torment her and cut off her hair. Yes, I realize that's a movie, but there are girls that are really like that. Think "Mean Girls."

How do I know about girl bullying? Because I had my moments of being bullied. I won't go into specifics, mostly because it was so long ago and I am over it, and have been for a long time. I'll just say that I was a victim of the infamous 3-way call, a great way for damage to be done in girl world and it was by my supposed best friends. When it happened, it sucked. I was crushed. Luckily, I had people to turn to and years later I realize I'm a better person for that happening. I never wanted anyone to feel the way I did, and still don't.

There's something that you have to realize if you are being bullied, and that's this: YOU ARE BETTER THAN THEY ARE!!!!!!

Repeat that to yourself over and over. The only reason they are doing this is because they have some strange need to feel superior to others, which is probably due to low self-esteem. They are probably really insecure about themselves and are threatened by the fact that you are okay with yourself and who you are. You just can't let them get to you. If it's really bad, talk to someone, like a teacher or parent. Don't let it go on. And no matter how much the bullies try to pull you down, realize there's a whole world out there with people that aren't as ignorant as those around you that are giving you a hard time because of your differences. You can get out there and wave your freak flag, embrace your eccentricities, and you will find others out there that are like you and share your interests.


*Note, this is my first attempt at blogging a hot topic with great seriousness. I'm going to try and do these every once in a while, I just want people to think and consider this stuff. Feel free to comment on your thoughts on this, or other topics you might want to read about...I'm always open to suggestions.