Girl enters school.
Girl walks to locker.
Girl see’s bully.
Girl tries to hide. She can’t
Girl goes home and cries.

(Repeat)
(Note: variations of the above scene may vary depending on subject.)

I wish this scene was acted out on a stage, with the actress faking her fear, the tech guy sweating in the back as he moves the lights to point on her.
The audience will sit in creaking seats, fanning themselves, not doing anything. They will watch. They will listen. They will stay silent.
When the girl kills herself and the show is over, they will clap.
But remember, this is real life. It’s not a show.
This is bullying.
And we still stay silent.

I believe bullying comes from prejudgment, fear, and pressure from society.
I cannot say there will be a day when people aren’t prejudice, people don’t have fear, and people aren’t constantly being influenced from society’s expectations.
But I do know that people have the capability to help others, and to speak out loud.
We have words. Just one may make a difference.
I have one:
STOP.
As teens, we are at a point in our life where our view of ourselves can be shattered. We can be broken with just a few, harsh remarks.
Our body, our clothes, our gender, our friends, our opinions, our race. Who we are as a person may be judged by other people, and we feel the blows, whether they are physical or not.
And everyone feels this, even the bully. They too, face the same problems. They are looking for an escape.
You can’t just fix one part of bullying. It’s like a building: if you take out the structure, everything else will collapse.
If you help the person being bullied, the bully will still have nowhere to go, no one to turn to. If you stop the bully, you leave behind a person who has been broken into pieces, and needs support to glue them back.
The audience watching knows the truth as the scene unfolds. They know they have witnessed bullying, have done it, or have let it happen.

Girl enters school.
Girl walks to lockers
Girl see’s bully.
Friend in hall looks at girl, and smiles.
Girl smiles back.
Girl lives.

Remember, this is real life.
It isn’t a show.
Don’t stay silent.
Speak.