Real Teens Speak Out

WHY?

WHY? . . . is a question i ask myself everyday.

When i’m at school i ask it to myself more than anything.

I’ve been bullied forever, like ever since preschool. Bullying isn’t a fun thing to mess with. I mean i’ve attempted suicide because of it, i self harmed because of it. And recently i’ve been put in a hospital because of it.

I tell people, they don’t believe me. Adults don’t see how much pain another student can put you through.

WHY? i’m still asking. WHY? it has to be me, WHY? do i have to live through this.

i wish it is easier to ignore it. But it’s not. You can’t ignore it, You become blinded by it. Bullying makes your self esteem go bad. i can’t even look myself in the mirror anymore.

Because of it, i’ve made mistakes i don’t wanna remember.

I Just Want To Scream, And Be Heard.

Bullying is bad yes, But if you find enough people to Try to stop it, im guessing it can be a lot easier.

Stay Strong.

Stronger Now

Why do People Judge? All of my life was an uphill battle.

When I was little I used to be a Tom Boy. I used to love to play football, baseball. Mostly I love to skate. I wore my older brother clothes shoes everything. Like I wanted to be a boy. Not that I care that much.

I remember being called names. Being bullied for that because I was different. I hated being different. I wanted to be normal. I was angry at myself. I was so ashamed that one I Almost Committed Suicide.

Bullying it not cool. I was bullied all of my life. It was so difficult and very emotional. If you ever had the experience you know how it feels. I’m so thankful I got through this. I don’t want to ever look back at it. It

History shows when people hurt you over and over, think of them like sandpaper. They may scratch and hurt you a bit, but in the end, you end up polished and they end up useless.”

I’m Stronger now. To The People who bullied me I don’t know what to say, but I Forgive you.

My Life go on and I’m Stronger Than I was before.

The Beauty Inside of Everyone

Bullying.

Why? I ask myself this question more than once a day. Just what sneaks into a person’s mind to make them say such abusive and crude things to one another? The things that make someone ask themselves "what importance do they have in their life?"

Who could think this is ok? No child, teen, or adult should ever have to feel this agony, and discomfort. No human should ever get to that point where suicide is the only answer. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people, resulting in 4,400 deaths per year. For every suicide among young people, there are at least 100 suicide attempts. Over 14 percent of high school students have considered suicide, and almost 7 percent have attempted it. Who honestly thinks this is ok?

Innocent people are dying every day due to the torture of bullying. What good does anyone get out of making others feel so low about themselves? Why do they feel they need to say things to have power over another person? Why do they need to make themselves look so tough? Why do they need to hurt people emotionally and physically to make them feel better about themselves?

It makes me so angry that people are getting hurt, and killing themselves all over the world and I’m sitting here doing my own thing doing nothing about it. I get so angry at myself, when i should be trying to make a change.

Every person deserves a smile. That kid out at your school that everyone thinks is so odd, has feelings too. To judge people by just the way they look is disgusting; they are the same as the rest of us. Why make a person feel so alone, and unreal. Why make a person feel like they are just a shadow going with the wind. Why judge a person by their colour? Or by the way they talk? Anything. No person deserves this. What’s stopping you from saving a person’s life?

Why not at least say hi every once in a while to that kid eating lunch by themselves? You never know that one hi might change their life. It could make them realize they aren’t invisible to everyone. Is that so hard?

If your friends are going to judge you because of that why are you friends with them? Why not help them too? You could help them make a change too.

If your being bullied, there’s hope. There’s hope in everyone’s life you just have to stand strong, and wait for it. Call for help, every life on this earth has meaning. Go on an adventure; find why you were put here. No one was ever put here to feel just abandoned. High school will be the hardest time of your life. But after that is a whole new life just waiting to happen. Every person has beauty inside of them. Every person deserves to feel happy.

A change is all I’m asking for. To help those kids bullying, and the kids dealing with the pain of being bullied. Suicide is not the answer. It’s never the answer. You’re loved by someone out there, and always will be. The people saying your life isn’t worth the fight? They’re wrong. Don’t think negative of yourself, put a smile on that face and stand strong. Show that your better than those cruel people out there. Start making a change for the better in your life. Help others, make people smile, show them that they mean something, and show them that there’s a better life waiting for them out there. This world really isn’t really that bad of place. Help spread the word and make people believe it. Help those aching hearts all around the world.

Stand up to bullying, and help show the beauty inside of everyone. Stop this chaos, now.

Message From Someone Who Has Been There

Advice from someone who experienced bullying as a teen.

There are a few things that I felt kept me from ever doing anything that would prevent me from doing what I’m doing today, which is attending University, pursuing a career in Youth/Factual programming.

This would include:

Don’t do anything illegal or look into any illegal/harmful
By this, I realised that drugs or crime would’ve left me with a record, delaying education, and possibly never getting the chance to go to University or any post-secondary school. I refrained myself from many parts of the social aspects of school because of the high amounts of racial intolerance and gang conformity in two schools.

Realise that someday I will turn 18 & realise that high school is just four years.
High school was more or so very isolating, due to the high amounts of racial intolerance and gang confirmity.

The internet is a mixed-reaction, but still very unfortunate way to deal with being abused.
I admit to using the internet to deal being emotionally abused by former legal guaridans, family, as well as teachers in school because I felt nobody else cared enough to do anything. While it is very sad to see kids, myself included look to the internet to seek comfort for abuse, it’s likely to continue and could only stop if acton was taken and if counselours were easier to trust, rather than being the "next person who will say they’ll listen, but won’t.

Committing to Post-Secondary Education.
This is what I’m doing today and I realise that if I ever did anything like follow into crime, trouble, sex/drugs, or do something harmful (suicide, addiction, self-harmonisation) would have prevented me from pursing education and a career.

Caught Being Nice

An idea submitted by a young student to encourage positive behavior.

Maybe we could hand out a prize to each person when we see them being nice. So then all they want is the prize and to get the prize they need to be caught being nice so then they will have no choice but to be nice!

Hopefully it will work wish me luck!

Stay Strong

Dear World,

My name is Allison. I’m 14 years old almost 15. I’ve been bullied for years. It was mostly verbal, and emotional bullying for years, then in 6th grade it stopped.  I thought, oh yeah it’s all over. Well I was wrong. Then 7th grade came. It got bad. People were pushing, me and it got really violent. It started off verbal, and emotional again, then it got to violent for me.

In 7th grade after all this started up I started to harm myself. I would bite my one arm when I was really down. There were times where I didn’t really want to do anything to be anywhere anymore. My mom ended up getting very ill near the beginning of the year of 2012. She was diagnosed with cancer. It hurt a lot. I got make fun of all the time because of my mom being very sick. It got to that point where I didn’t want to go to school anymore.

There was a time last school year when I ended up getting bullied online. When that went down that was the last straw. I was so hurt, that I went to school and went in to the principals office and talked to her. I told her how bad I feel and what is going on. That quickly got resolved but the rest was ignored.

Then this year came. The 8th grade. It was going good so far. I wasn’t hurting myself, until the 4th day of school. I got dis-included in school at the lunch table. That day I sat by myself. That was when I noticed that I couldn’t do this by myself. I then contacted thehopeline.com . They are helping me so much.

Right now I am still being bullied severely. Just recently I tried to make sure a friend was safe, but well that failed. She turned on me and sent threatening messages to me online, stating that she wanted to beat me in the face and that the world would be a better place with out me. It was really bad stuff she was saying to me. Then we got back from break and she brought it to school. One day I said “I’m done!” I went straight to the principal and told her that I am scared of being in school or even near school.  We got together with the bully herself, the counselor and the principal and me, it got worse. We talked, but nothing happened, until now we got the cops involved, but they aren’t doing much though. It’s so hard for me not to cry anymore. Every day I wish that it would get better, and that none of this would be happening.

I’m staying so strong for those that need help. I’m in charge of a anti-bully group at school, and is a big anti-bully person myself. I have a blog called, "stayingstrongforyou.blogspot.com". I’ve also made a poster board for anti-bullying, with that song "Why" by Rascal Flatts.

Please don’t forget that your not alone. Stay strong, and don’t give up.

Thank you for reading my story.

“COOL”

I have been bullied before, but it wasn’t as painful as how my classmate was being bullied.

It all started on our freshmen year in High Schoo. He was not so cool and people would call him weird. I have to admit I also called him weird, but I never really meant it.

Kids in my school especially in my class would just . . . well . . . say he’s gay, stupid, causing us trouble, etc. By then I was already feeling bad for him.

No one stood up for him. Until someone called him something that really disgusted me (it has something to do with vulgarities) and they started pushing him around after he tried to fit in.

I told them that what they are calling him was wrong and they shouldn’t be doing that and it was bad enough that they called him gay. The guy thanked me and walked in class while I had to face the bullies, they told me "shut up and don’t act like your a hero it doesn’t make you look cool" Yeah, sure it made me mad but fighting back won’t do anything right? So, I just replied "BULLYING DOESN’T MAKE YOU COOL EITHER".

After a few days they still talk behind my back. Well, you know what bullies may still bully, but we just have to wait to see them turn over a new leaf.

The Table

My older sister was bullied growing up. She had virtually no friends up until high school and used to get in the car after school and cry nearly every day. It was beyond painful for me to see her deal with that and I would never wish it on anyone.

I went to the same school my sister did and my best friend, Bekah, and I decided that we were going to eliminate bullying in our grade. We started by finding the kids in our class that were tortured the most by our classmates and ate with them every lunch.

Then we started to partner with them on projects, talk to them outside of class, and hang out with them after school. Some upper classmen saw what we were doing and joined in with us.

Together we formed The Table, a group made up of a mix of the most popular and most bullied kids from 7th grade to Seniors. The people I met by forming this group are some of the best people I have ever met and are all still my friends today.

The youngest of the original group all graduated last year, but my sister, Bekah, and I passed on the legacy to our younger brother and to this day bullying in our school has all but disapeared. I want to encourage everyone on this site that it can be done.

We can stop bullying in schools. Take a stand, and never give up. You are more brave than you give yourself credit for.

I Hope!

Hello,

I have been bullied a lot. And i mean a lot. From Kindergarten To grade 3 my life was perfect. But in grade 4 i moved schools. That’s when it all began. I made 2 friends on the first day of school. They were barely my friends though, we barely talked and they ditched me all the time. Everyone in that class hated me.

There was this one kid named Noah! He was the worst. Everyday they picked on me. Called me cocky and stupid and mean and ugly. I cried so often. It hurt a lot. I have been cutting myself since that year. In grade 5 i made a so called best friend. Her name was Victoria. We got in a lot of fights but one day we just stopped talking forever. I don’t know why. But during when we stopped fighting and the end of the year (a few months) she got me in trouble for a bunch of stuff i didn’t do. She got me suspended 4 times even though i did nothing. I dont understand why she hates me so much she turned the whole class against me. No one . Not even my parents or brothers and sisters believed me.

In grade 6 I had high hopes. I ddint have anyone in my class from grade 5. Although, i had Noah. Grade 6 and 7 we have the same class in our school! Its hard. He was awful to me. When my friend came to sit with me he yelled "why are you going to sit with her? Shes disgusting."

I luckily have a lot of friends and i talked to the guidance councilor. I don’t think she really cares though, or she thinks nothing is really going on with me. He still makes fun of me to this day. I never get a break. If someone says one mean thing to me it ruins my day.

I am over dramatic and i don’t always like myself. But i am working on it. I have super supportive friends and an amazing brother. The one thing that is bad… Is that only a handful of my friends know. No family and no one else. Well i know it can only get better.. I hope!

Not Your Average Schoolyard Bully

Chase Serota and Dylan Zeiff are seventh grade students at Jericho Middle School in Jericho, New York. They first began to produce this documentary in their Project History class for the annual National History Day Competition. The documentary, titled "Not Your Average School Yard Bully: Reforming How Schools React to the Bullying Epidemic" tracks the changes in school responses to incidences of bullying following the tragedy at Columbine High School in 1999.  The boys learned about the many changes in perceptions about bullying, school rules, and local and national legislation put in place to protect students from being bullied.

Although Chase and Dylan initially set out to document historical changes and reforms, after many months of researching and creating their documentary, a spark ignited within them.  They were deeply affected by what they learned, including the devastating, negative impact of bullying on kids throughout the United States. Chase and Dylan developed a passion for promoting a powerful bullying prevention message. They strongly believe that students, who come to school each day to learn, should not have to be afraid of taunting, teasing, discrimination, or harassment.

Chase and Dylan have come to realize that every person can make a difference by taking a stand against bullying and reaching out to others who have been bullied. They hope to make a difference by sharing this documentary.

The documentary is available on YouTube at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awrqnyy5i_I&feature=my_liked_videos&list=LLSLVQOtjGSn2-wqaQAzB_RA