Bullying in teens is about as common place as grass in a park; it’s sometimes overlooked due to abundance of other distractions. It’s not until the grass starts dying that we begin to feel the awkwardness of something missing. It’s then brought to our attention that such a fundamental piece of the park should have been better taken care of. Grass doesn’t have prejudice; it will grow anywhere with light and nutrients; it will grow on either side of the fence. Grass in this case, is much like the bullied victims. Bullying can happen to anyone, anywhere and we cannot wait to fix it until after it’s destroyed. We must be proactive.

To begin with, what is a bully? There is a common misconception that bullies are big guys who take lunch money from weaklings and shove them in their lockers, and “pretty” girls are female bullies who transform words into razors, filing down every last bit of confidence. But in all honesty, I find these are just stereotypes not based in reality; much more often kids are getting bullied in less stereotypical ways so they don‘t consider themselves victims of bullying.

I believe a lot of bullying is done out of anger, stress, and frustration. Bullies want to show others how they feel, and they do that by abusing others, but they may not always know just how much damage they are doing. With all the pressures of school and life as teenagers; it’s hard not to take out our emotions on peers, it’s certainly a safer option than risk taking out anger on parents and getting into trouble. But it doesn’t have to be like this. If kids are exposed to primary accounts of bullying victims, it might make them think twice about their actions. Kids in high schools and middle schools are constantly hearing monotonous lectures on how bad bullying is and just to be kind to everyone. It would be wonderful if tactics like this worked, but unfortunately it does not make enough of an impression on kids. Sure it may make kids more conscientious of their actions for a day or so, but dissertations, such as the ones we are constantly being exposed to, have ephemeral impacts. What we really need are first hand accounts of the real horrors of bullying and how menial insignificant acts can pile up and turn out to be something horrific. Stories like these will trigger greater emotional attachment from kids. When you have a cause that people are emotionally attached to, it makes them all the more willing to fight for it. Like in the case of the dying grass, no one would care if they didn’t use the park; so show them how much fun a vibrant park can be.