Eighth grade, my friends and I are super stoked for high school. We at the lunch table about classes when I saw an unfamiliar girl crying, alone at a distant table. As I walk steadily towards her table, she ran into the girls’ bathroom.

I sat there, pondering on the thought of what I had done wrong. I felt obligated to find this girl. I looked in the sixth grade rooms, and there she was--talking to a teacher. I assumed she was being taken care of, so I walked away. But as soon as I turned around, I heard a high pitched cry...

“You guys say you’ll confront the boys to stop bullying me!”

I heard it comprehensibly like the alarm I woke up to everyday. I waited for her to come out of the classroom. There she was--tears streaming down her face as she tried to pull herself together. I asked if she needed to talk to someone.

“Who is bullying you?” I asked.

“Jon, Tyler, and Will verbally abuse me, saying I’m fat and ugly, every time they see me in the halls.”

“This needs to stop immediately. What class are they in? I need to talk to them.”
 
“They are in Ms. G’s class across the hall.”

Walking to their class, I contemplated what to say to avoid more conflict. My goal was to get my point across without sparking havoc. I heard my heart pound like a drum.

I came in the classroom, and I asked Ms. G if I could talk to the three boys. She said yes. “Now boys, I heard you’re making fun of Jenna’s obesity.” They tried and deny it, but I cut them off.“What makes you think that you can bully her like this to the point where she cries?”

Jon says, “Well, I think she is annoying.”
Tyler says, “Because I can!”
Will in turn says, “I have the right to say whatever I want!”
My response, was firm and direct. I told them if I ever heard them continuing this unacceptable behavior, I’d make sure the principal would get their parents involved.

“This will not happen anymore. Do you understand?” 

They stood silently. Their faces turned red and they looked at me and made a silent agreement.

Students should care about bullying, and do something if they see or hear something going on. Whether it’d be in the halls, in the locker room, or in the classroom-- No more bystanding.

Bullying is in schools and it shouldn’t be. People shouldn’t have to stress on what others are going to say to them or what they are going to say behind their backs about how they are different. Bullying needs to come to a stop, because it can lead to self harm and even suicide. Bullying is a problem all around the world. Take a stand today, in prevention of people in the future don’t have to live in fear of what others will do or say to them.