Saturday, September 27, 2014

Why I Decided to Expose Myself


Online bullying is one of the main topics today in the world, due to recent jumps in suicide among young teens and adults, declaring that people have belittled them to the point of no return.

This isn’t an easy subject for me to talk about. I was harmlessly bullied in elementary, kids can be cruel at that certain age, something I attribute as part of growing up.

Junior high was a lot better of an experience for myself, I had great friend’s and we all hung out in a big group, everyone was equals.

I had few hard months in high school. At times it was tough to deal with others, but in a way it made it easier to relate to others with social problems, or the stigma of being “different.” It made me a better person in a sense since I stopped gossiping as much and thought before I spoke so that the feelings’ of other people were reconized first and foremost.

In the last year and a half, I’ve settled down with my high school sweetheart and I have been enjoying the last few years of University immensely, proud of who I have become and the work ethic I’ve adopted.

Unfortunately, there are vindictive people who use the Internet to say things that they are too afraid to say out loud. 

The website, nobullying.com reported 52% of young people report being cyber bullied. Furthermore, 33% of the young people who reported cyber bullying against them said that their bullies used online threats.

I was once posted onto a gossip website, completely slamming my character. It was extremely upsetting to not be able to defend myself. 

I went through the initial emotions of devestation, crying, feeling sorry for myself, wanting to defend myself to getting mad. All I kept thinking is, “have I hurt someone so bad that they feel this is okay to do?”

Over the next few weeks and several revolations, I questioned my actions towards other people. Since I have been bullied before myself, I’m extremely careful not to target others the way I've been targeted, therefore, I try my best not to upset anyone or make enemies. I raked my mind and my friend’s list trying to figure out who would have done such a hurtful thing, or who didn't have the guts to just talk it out. 

In the process of figuring out who the culprit was, I mended a few friendships and strengthened others. I realized that it's important not to keep grudges and be more open to other's feelings instead of just my own. 

Finally, after the initial shock wore off, I can 100% say that I just don’t care! The most important thing that matters isn’t who believes the article and the lies the poster wanted people to believe, all that matters is if I love myself enough to essentially brush it off!

My friends and family know the real me and that’s really all I care about. Facts such as my obsession with helping animals, my love for going to the library often to read romance novels and spending as much time with my grandparents during the week to bake are most certainly never posted online, the things that ACTUALLY define me! The whole idea is to pick out negative parts and roast your identity!

I’m not saying it’s always easy to ignore rude comments made towards your image, but give yourself a break, everyone is human and everyone makes mistakes. As long as you are kind to others and apply empathy in the right situations, than you have nothing to be ashamed about.

All you can do to be a better person is to have humanity. Caring about others as you would yourself will make you a better person that people will look up to. If your aware of these things, than you can make better choices that benefit your character.

So why did I expose myself?


Because it’s okay to still be confident and show others that bullying doesn’t have to define you.


1 comment:

  1. Anonymous10/01/2014

    Haters gonna hate hate hate hate (as T Swift says). I've had people send me hurtful messages over Facebook in the past, and I reacted the same way. So glad to hear you looked past it, because you're awesome. Shine bright :)

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