Think Twice Before Speaking- Yasmine Hadid 9A

            “No one heals himself by wounding another.” This quote assures that no matter how much one is suffering, he or she won’t feel any better by making another person hurt. It is a well-known fact that bullying is a useless action that basically makes general existence worse than it already is just for a temporary laugh from a friend or to seem superior when it actually just makes the bully look idiotic and childish and creates a permanent scar in the victim’s mind. There are various physical and social causes for bullying that lead to devastating psychological and academic effects on the student, but for every problem, there’s a solution to eliminate or decrease the risks of it.     

To begin with, the physical appearance is the main instigator to bullying which has a psychological effect on the student like having suicidal thoughts. Overweight kids are a particularly easy target given that society tends to disapprove and mock obesity. A 2015 study shows that 44.4% of extremely obese kids are subjected to bullying which means they are five times more likely to be depressed and are at a higher risk for suicide. Moreover, bullying a disabled person will often lower their self-esteem and eventually make them think that he or she cannot achieve their goals. In fact, Deon Gillen was an 18-year-old who took his life after being bullied by a schoolmate for his learning disability and was hospitalized with heavy bruises on his arms after he had been punched by the same boy who had repeatedly bullied him and constantly called him stupid and retarded.

            Moreover, social distinctions, if pointed out in a disdainful manner, can lead to a deterioration in the students’ academic manner. As such, Marcus Arguello, a former student in Washington High School, has one said in an interview: “I had to drop out of high school when I was about 17 years old. The other kids there used to make fun of the way I act, saying it’s too girly and other mean stuff that had me diagnosed with depression. I didn’t want to go to school anymore for I thought nobody wanted me there and considering the student counselor told me ‘if I never saw it, it never happened’ when I tried seeking for help, which only made me feel worse plus I couldn’t focus on my studies and would eventually skip school so no one would make fun of a presentation or speech I had to read out loud in front of my classes.” In addition to that, a study found that victims of bullying are often blaming themselves for being bullied which in turn develops a negative self-perception that affects their concentration on school work, and become potential to have lower grades and perform poorly on standardized tests.

          Consequently, schools and other places where bullying is common can reduce the rates of bullying in plenty of ways. For example, in schools, when teachers observe bullying, they should punish the bully in a way it will encourage them not to repeat it again like telling his or her guardian and putting them in detention to teach them of the consequences. Moreover, schools can hire counselors whereas the kids who are being bullied can resort to them when they’re thinking about dropping out or self-harming. In fact, studies have shown that ever since experienced counselors have been hired, the percentage of bullying in schools has decreased by 30%. As such, a counselor is always there to offer advice to students at crucial turning points in their lives, and are there for students who need advice and support especially when going through verbal or abuse by classmates.

 All in all, bullying is a widespread problem around the world, and no community is immune from this problem and it results from various physical and social factors which lead to a myriad of psychological and academic drawbacks. Everyone should be careful about what comes out of their mouth and remember that blowing out someone’s candle won’t make yours shine any brighter.