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“Courage is fire, and bullying is smoke.”(Benjamin Disraeli, Prime Minister of Great Britain, 1805-1881). Bullying has been around for many centuries, and has an impact on all people in many different ways. In Georgia, a couple of years ago, a kid woke up and was acting very different from how he usually acted. He went to school and he came home with a big smile on his face, a smile of happiness that soon dissolved; into the smoke. He showed his mom the grades he got which were all very good with high "A's" and "B's". The young boy than ran up into his room and a few hours later his mother went to see what he was doing. Finally, she opened the door and her happiness quickly ended. Her son was hanging on the rope of death. He committed suicide because of the bullying he had to put up with throughout the school year. The boy thought that he should not have a part on Earth. Which is not true, everyone is unique and everyone should be part of our community.

Another concept of bullying is that it has a huge impact on who you are or how you act. "It can make kids feel hurt, scared, sick, lonely, embarrassed and sad." (Mark Dombeack Ph.D.) Bullying can cause sadness or depression. In some cases, even suicidal thoughts and behavior are the effects. The first effects on being bullied are usually feeling great depression, and having lower grades. Another really important effect is that people who are bullied think about suicide and become suicidal. It has been proven that most of the people who have committed suicide have been bullied. They didn’t want a part in it anymore. When a person is bullied it also has a huge effect in the long run. The people that are bullied lose trust with other people; this is because they feel that everyone will be mean to them. They also want to take revenge on any person they see because it makes them think that they are stronger for bulling them. Another major effect is that the bullied will not have as many opportunities in the future because their self-esteem has decreased so much from the days when they were bullied.

There are many different types of people that are involved with bulling. There is the bully, the bullied and the spectator that is equally important; the bystander. Some say that only kids bully but that is not true. People from all ages bully, from kids to even “perfect” adults. The adults feel the same way as the kid’s feel that they should rule over everyone else. Bulling occurs everywhere from offices to school. It doesn’t matter where you are or who you are, being bullied is another weight dropped onto your back.

Surprisingly, there are many reasons why someone is bullied or why someone bullies. One of the main ideas of why kids bully others is that they don’t get a lot of attention at home or they come from an abusive family. Many kids that are abused or bullied bring revenge wherever they go. The bully actually thinks that bulling, other people, is a game and it is fun. Bullying is very addictive. Some of them don’t realize that it hurts. One of the most common reasons why someone bullies is that they want to make them feel better or powerful. Many say if you have been bullied than you want to take revenge. The revenge doesn’t have to be addressed to the past bullies. Lots of times you bully an innocent child. Innocent is the “key word”. Most people that are harassed are shy, innocent, juvenile children.

When a person is bullied they usually think of the saying, “Sticks and stones will break my bones but names will never hurt me.” “Is more or less exactly backwards. Being the repetitive target of bullying damages your ability to view yourself as a desirable, capable and effective individual.” (Mark Dombeck P.H.D) Many people try to hide from the person that has harassed them but many of times it doesn’t work. That is where friends come in. A true friend stands up for you when you have been hurt by another person. “Stop bulling when you see it.” (Jamie Littlefield) So, the next time you encounter a situation where someone is being bullied, you can stick up for the bullied, the bullies and even yourself. You can make a huge difference for standing up for what is right instead of being the bystander. The main key to prevent bullying is to spread the word and tell people around your community that it can seriously hurt people. From a group of people that spread the word, to someone that is “stepping” out of the bystander mode, we can oust bullying throughout our community.