Bullying in schools

In elementary school, I suffered a lot from allergies. As I got to middle school it progressed and I was later diagnosed with a critical asthma condition.  As a result of this health crisis, it was difficult for me to be as active as I was in elementary school. I had difficulties breathing especially during and after exercising. I was on intense treatment and with no physical activities, I started gaining weight gain. During physical education class and in the hallways students would make fun of me and called me names. It started with weird looks and giggling behind my back. It was awful. I could either choose to cry and let these kids control my life or ignore them and act as if it did not bother me.

How to stop bullying

One day I reflected on my life as a philanthropist and the ways that I was helping kids around the world. I said to myself instead of spending time feeling sorry for myself, and worrying about what others say about me, I will have to stay positive and not let any of these bother me. I refused to let these kids control my life by bullying in school. I thought about words that would lift my spirit up. Often I will tell myself I have to be BRAVE and stand for myself. I reminded myself that I am a BIG and BRAVE GIRL. Then I decided to come up with positive acronyms for the words BIG, BRAVE and GIRL.

During my trip to South Africa, I was able to spend time with some young girls who were facing a lot of life challenges. As I listened to them share their story, my hearts went out to them. These are girls who are brave and have big dreams. They have gone through a lot in their young life but have dreams to become world changers. I thought about those words that inspired me in my last moments.  I shared these words and acronyms with them.

Encourage others

When I came back from South Africa, I decided to have the words printed on T.shirts not just for myself but that other kids use them and feel safe when they are bullied or when they are down. I decided to sell the T.Shirts and use the money to support causes that are dear to my heart.

Now I spend my spare time coming up acronyms for words. I use these words to let other kids to empower other kids and to let them know that they are bigger than their bullies.

Bullying and victimization are common in schools, it sometimes starts by spreading rumors. Research shows that young people can prevent bully if students report these small first steps. But usually, if these are not reported aggressive behaviors follow, physical bullying, cyberbullying, angry and aggressive text messages and more. Some of types of bullying start in the school bus, so from bus drivers to school staff should always be on the lookout for bully behavior and promote anti-bullying. Even more, they should encourage school students to report bullying as soon as they see it.

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