Since I was a little girl, I have believed in equality.
My older sister told me a story once, about something that happened at her high school before I was even in kindergarten. There was a boy named Kurt, and he was gay. Kurt was picked on relentlessly to the point of suicide. He hung himself in his closet, next to a note that read “No one cares.” The community payed little attention to what happened, and Kurt got only a small obituary in the school paper. This incident was too soon forgotten. Later that year, the school’s lead quarterback committed suicide the same way, leaving a note behind that had only a picture of Kurt, and the word ‘unjust’ beneath it. The community was in disbelief.
What a way to make a statement. Though what the quarterback did was very noble, neither of the deaths should have happened, and both could have been prevented. Suicide is the third leading cause of death amongst teenagers, and if kids aren’t talked to about suicide, they could end up with the same fate as Kurt, or the quarterback.
The school should have taken action after what happened to Kurt. People don’t understand that like what happened with him, the littlest things can lead people to do very big things. If you know someone who has attempted suicide, or is thinking about attempting suicide, try as hard as you can to talk hem through it, because there is ALWAYS a better option.
If you are a bully, realize that what you do can affect people in such ways that it could drive them to self harm, or even suicide. What may seem like a joke to you may not be a joke to others. So I go back to the rule that if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all, because that one little thing could put someone off the edge. You don’t want to have that on your conscious. Please, realize that what you do every day makes a difference, and be the best person you can be.