Bullying

Another ordinary day at Merryweather High changed in seconds; as I entered in from the side entrance of the cafeteria I noticed that things were eerily quiet. Not a day nor even a second nor perhaps a millisecond goes by that any high school would ever be this soundless. I sat in the corner alone like always, the Outcast. It wasn’t quiet any longer, almost as if it was me they were waiting for. Imaginary hands crawled like spiders across my skin, snaking around my neck trying to suffocate me, all I wanted to do was scream, yell, yonder any form of communication to get through to my peers. But I just couldn’t speak. In the novel "Speak", Laurie Halse Anderson plays the role of a victim abused by bullying,
 through her times at school we find her struggling to get a grasp at her ever fading life.
 
High school is a scary place, you have to fend for yourself without having parents to protect and guide you. Melinda was thrown into the world of high school without any emphasis on just how vulnerable she is; a shy and unspoken girl, never really participating in any activity during school or at her house because of a tragic accident during the previous summer. However if she would have spoken out about her rape and the fear that associated with it may have changed the way she lived her first year of high school; troubled with hostile treats and relentless teasing. An example of what Melinda went through is exactly like the many people in high school who are put as outcasts, through recent news we have found out that this leads to suicide or other forms of harm. Overwhelmed by the amount of teasing that they get, it makes everything better just to be gone. Or does it? Does becoming a statistic really prove anything? What it does prove is making the bully know that they are the people who are strong, that they will keep doing the same thing to others, because you couldn’t stand up for yourself. Teen Ink.com shows that 60 percent of teenagers have at one point thought of committing suicide; these thoughts may have occurred because they have recently broken up with some one, are failing multiple classes, arguments with parent or a bad family situation. One of the largest reasons this number has drastically increased is due to bullying. There are many forms of bullying such as cyber and verbal. Definitions are a vast range of tempers or behaviors with intentions that can impact social status, reputation, emotions and property. Also it is intentionally meant to be hurtful persistently. We can all say that at one point in time we have been in some type of bullying situation, now if we keep letting things escalate to points where lives are on the line every minute.

When entering high school it is a very frightful place, you can either make the best of it or you can hide in sorrow and become the person that you never would have thought that you would become due to other people's actions. Our life is your own, live it the way you want, not the way others do.