Stand Up For Yourself

‘Don’t listen to what other people say, if you want to do something just do it..’ says Matt.

“Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life, but define yourself.” – Tim Fields.. Basically, just be yourself even though others might judge you. You should not care of how others perceive you as long as you know who you are.

Hidden and alone Larry was always at the back of his group of friends. Larry was in a group of five. Larry shared his story of peer pressure. He was always mistreated and misunderstood by his friends. Even though he was always bullied, he endured the pain. He stayed in the group because he was too scared to be alone. It did not help that everyone in his grade hated all five of them.

One day, Larrys friends started cornering him. They threw Larry on to the ground and started kicking him. The bystanders around them did nothing but laugh at Larry. No one left to go get the teacher. He could hear the dark voices in his head going: ‘What a loser!’ ‘He is so weak’. Some people even started thinking that Larry was a bad person. All of the sudden Larry cracked under pressure.

‘Stop!’ yelled Larry. Silence fell in the corridor only raindrops could be heard. One of the bullies spoke ‘Do you really think we will? A loser like you don’t get to speak up to us.’ One mississippi: ‘You are just a parasite.’ the bully continues . Larry stands up. Two mississippi: ‘A parasite who leeches of every-’ Larry stops the bully by punching him in the face. Three mississippi: Silence again…‘What are you doing?’ yells an infuriated teacher. A teacher showed up at the right place but at the wrong time. Once Larry came back to school after his suspension, he was never bullied again instead people treated him with respect. He felt like Rosa Parks; Fighting for what he wanted.

Peer pressure and bullying are the worst types of influence. ‘People want to destroy your dreams and ruin your life, thats how people are, so ignore them and keep doing your thing’ comments Alex. If people do not stand up against bullies then the bullies will feel more empowered. People get bullied in many different ways and no one sees nor realizes the pain victims go through physically and emotionally.

George wanted to share his story with the reporter. George’s classmate would always kick him or slap him at the back of his head. One day George had enough, he threw the bully onto the ground and started kicking him. After that day the bully stopped bothering him.

George adds ‘I used to do judo before, I am still good at throwing people down. Use your strength or learn martial arts to fight off the bullies.’ It is really helpful to block or fight the bullies because most of them just stop after getting their own medicine. You can defend yourself and others from being bullied.

‘If you see someone being bullied,help them, if you ignore the bully; The bully will keep bullying them and others’ says Derek. ‘If no one stops the bullies then who will?’ adds Derek. Victims should have the courage to fight against bullies even if the bullies are their own friends. It is better to be alone than to be suffering by emotional and physical pain. What people do not understand is that if you stand up for yourself against the bullies, they will actually stop bothering you. Its much better to voice your opinion against the bullies especially in anger and the emotions you feel inside. They will then finally understand how they made you feel.

An 8th grader shared her story with the reporter. She had 6 friends who bullied her both physically and emotionally, one day she finally had enough and stood up to ‘the leader’. The 8th grader’s close friends were on the bullies side they never supported the 8th grader. She would always pick fights with them. But, she never separated away from them. When she did, it was because her close friends also started getting bullied by ‘the leader’. ‘I still regret I didn’t leave them earlier..’

“You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.” –Winston Churchill

If you do not stand up for yourself then you will never be free. Take your chance for freedom now or be the fool..