Bullying: it's a problem that is sweeping schools and spreading like a disease. Although it's always been around, the internet is spreading different stories and forms of bullying like a disease.
Recently, a ton of stories of bullying victims have been coming up. Demi Lovato, a successful music recording artist and X-Factor judge, has come out and shared her story about how she was bullied when she was younger. Furthermore, she met a girl on the X-Factor (I cant remember her name at the moment.) who had a similar story and related to Demi. For those of you who dont know Demi's story, she was driven to the point of cutting and other related abusive actions toward herself.
Another example is the story of Amanda Todd. She was bullied, abused, was driven to drugs, and then eventually she took her own life. Her story is a sad one and worth looking into.
We always find out that people were bullied too late and we don't say anything until after we have found out. While someone is being bullied, we dont know what's going on in their lives. We don't think of asking because that person looks and seems normal to us. We push them to the side and say: "Oh, they'll be okay. S/he is smiling on the outside."
Once the bullying starts to show on the outside or it turns to something more drastic, then we start saying things about them or we start sharing their story. In Amanda's case, people probably did not think about her or her feelings. All they could say were nasty things about her and even went as far to beat her. Once Amanda took her own life, her story was spread on the internet and people started to say nice things about her. People felt sorry when they read her story and shared it with others.
The main reason as to why this post exists is the concept of people not fixing the problem before it started to escalate. Why cant people stand up for kids who are being bullied right off the bat? Wouldn't there be less sad stories and more successful stories of getting over bullying?
Another way to put this is if people would reach out a helping hand to a kid who isn't doing so hot, there probably wouldn't be as many sad stories like Amanda's. Seeing a kid who's alone, crying, sad, or being bullied by someone and not reaching out is like watching a puppy being kicked. If you see someone, making an effort to talk to them or stand up for them could make a huge difference in their lives.
I will leave you with a question: If you were being bullied, would you want to see a hand reached out in friendship or a fist to hurt you?
Ready, set, let's go! AOK is going in my portfolio for college admissions. Yes, those are the originals super glued with poster glue to card stock. Although it was heartbreaking to cut them out, they're going to reach new heights (hopefully!). 
