YOU Can Make a Difference: Bullying

Those who struggle once, often struggle the rest of their lives. 

Introduction:

              Think to yourself, what was your favorite activity to attend as a student in school? Was it attending Friday night football games? Or going to school dances? Attending sport events? Or attending school musicals? These are all school activities that are fun for students your age. However, what you might not realize is in most cases, any event you are attending, one individual or group could be suffering from bullying. There could be a peer in the bathroom crying because of a mean phrase that was said to them behind the bleachers. A young girl could be crying in the bathroom at Snowball because someone told her she looked ugly. A player could be counting down the minutes until the game is over because a teammate told him/her it was their fault the team lost the game. An actor could be holding back tears because another actor told them his/her voice cracked and called him/her a mean name.

              School bullying does not happen just in after school activities, in fact school bullying is becoming more prominent in classrooms today. Bullying is a subject that all students should be educated on. Each person in the world can be a help when it comes to teaching and talking about bullying. You, as an individual can influence others around you by speaking out, educating children, and informing students about the long-term effects of bullying.

What is Bullying:

              According to Centers for Disease Controland Department of Education, bullying is unwanted aggressive behavior, an imbalance of observed and perceived behavior, and often is repetitive behavior. Bullying can be physical, verbal, virtual, and/or social. This is situation that can happen to anyone during any point of their life. Researchers from Centers forDisease Control and Department of Education have proven that the victims of bullying tend to have more struggles and battles as they grow and develop into teens/adults.

              Some may say bullying is a way for an individual express themselves and voice their own struggles, however bullying is a matter than people should set up to the plate and assess effectively and in a timely manner.

Long-Term Effects:

              Bullying affects all domain areas of a child during the situation, but the individual typically faces struggles in their later lives. Bullying affects one, physical abilities, social/ emotional health, their home life, and academic performance. The victim of bullying faces anxiety, depression, struggle with making friends and keeping friends. Students who are bullied lack self-esteem. They began to take the nasty words and apply them to being true. Victims experience a roller coaster of emotions, anger, frustration, loneliness, and helpless. Research have proven that those who are bullied often resort to drugs and alcohol to numb their feelings.

There is a correlation between suicide and bullying. CDC believes that these behaviors are related to one another, however, it can not be proven that bullying is the main cause for suicide. Suicide numbers have increased over the years, the most recent study performed by Yale University say that 17.2% of students who have been bullied have considered or attempted suicide. Dr. Hahn from Yale University states, “Research has suggested that children who experience bullying are more likely to engage in suicide behaviors both as a child as well as later in life as adults.”

Occurrences in Schools:

              It is proven Nationwide, that 19% of students from grades 9-12 report being bullied in school. Research has proven that 43.4% of bullying occurs in the hallway or stairwell. The second most occurrence location is the classroom being 42.1%.

              Almost half of the percentage, 46%, of students who aged from 12 years to 18 years that were bullied within the school year made an adult aware of the situation.

My Experience:  

Seeing my sister being bullied, was one of the hardest things an elementary school student should ever have to witness. Lydia was bullied in her last years of middle school and the beginning of her freshman year. She would come home from school with bruises on her back and a sad smile. She was bullied for who she was an individual. Still to this day, my sister struggles with depression, self-conscience, and anxiety. Even though she faces troubles throughout her everyday life, she continues to share her smile, sense of humor and personality with the people around her.

              

            After seeing and remembering what my sister went through, it is very important that people are aware of Bullying and the long-term effects it has on the victim.

(The picture above is Lydia and I. Her smile says it all!)

What Can You Do?

              Depending on the bystander that you are, everyone has different ways they can intervene as an individual. I have added a few tips that individuals should take into consideration. To look at more ways to intervene, stopbullying.gov, is a great resource to look at it.

            As a student you need to speak up when you are being bullied or see bullying happening to someone. Your first step should be to tell a trusted adult, educator, parent/guardian, or sibling, etc. Also, if you are the one getting bullied, stay calm and do not let the bully know he/she is getting to you. Make sure you and your friends have each other’s back. No child should suffer bullying, but when suffering from bullying a close friend and support system will be the best way for you as a victim to heal.