Riptide | Teen Ink

Riptide

January 13, 2019
By AlexaDiamant PLATINUM, South Plainfield, New Jersey
AlexaDiamant PLATINUM, South Plainfield, New Jersey
42 articles 3 photos 11 comments

Favorite Quote:
Don't you worry your pretty little mind, people throw rocks at things that shine.


I've never met Superman, and I'm perfectly ok with that. He hasn't saved me when I was in a time of need, and he never will. I have been saved before, but by an unlikely hero.

The most important thing to me is loyalty. My friends used to instill that in me, but now I don't have any left to do that. I was a people person, and I used to make friends with the snap of a finger. Everyone would want to come to my house and they used to laugh at all of my jokes. It was the greatest feeling in the world to be loved and appreciated. My friends were loyal to me, and I was loyal to them, but then they changed. We had our differences that became our tragic flaws. Those flaws were the reason why this unoffical play was classified as a tragedy.

In the winter of 2018, I had a big disagreemet with one of my closest friends. He held a grudge against me for a few months, and wouldn't stop harassing me. I felt weird talking about it to those closest to me because they were friends with him, and didn't see what he was doing to me. One day in the summer, I ended our friendhsip for good because I couldn't take the intimidation. He didn't take it well at all, and he ended up bullying me when school started. He got so many of my other friends to turn on me and join his posse. People who were once my friends backstabbed me within a day because they believed his lies. 

I had no friends left by October. I went to get help from my school by going to the principal. When I told him about my situation, he pretended to ensure he would do something about the issue. Months went by and I was still being targeted. I had three friends who I tried to vent to and get help from, but they didn't want to be wrapped up in drama. I was alone, and betrayed by everyone, and I felt like I was at the end of the rope.

The thing that hurt me the most was that none of my three friends I had left wanted to stand up for me and help me through the storm. I was being bullied, which I'm pretty sure is a big deal, and no one wanted to make sure I was ok. It broke me, and I didn't think I would ever be the same after I had just been put through hell. People who I once laughed with and shared secrets to had walked out of my life so fast that it was like experiecing whiplash. Atfter I tried everybody that I knew, I realized I wasn't going to be saved. I wasn't sure how I was supposed to live without a friend. Trying to live without having someone there for you was like trying to live without a heart: impossible. Suddenly, I didn't know how to eat, sleep, or even breathe. Everyday I went to school I could feel this shard piercing my chest letting me know I was a loser and was hated by everybody. 

One day, when I got home from school, I sat down and started writing poems about how I felt. Sometimes I would be too frustrated to put ny words together and would resort to punching my pillow. It was a relief to get my emotions out without anyone denying me my right to feel. Once I had calmed dawn, a thought occured to me: what if I helped myself? At first, I had to think about what I was trying to say. After thinking it over for a while, I came to the conclusion that I didn't need anyone. I had tried to stand up for myself and tell the principal back in November, but it didn't work. So, I decided to take matters into my own hands and let myself know that the only person who was going to make a change was myself. 

I ended up saving mysef from things such as self-harm, aggresion, and fear. I didn't let myself cave in just because no one else would stop me. I learned that even though you think you're alone, you're not. In reality you're always going to have yourself, and nobody knows you better than yourself. I had the power within me to regain confidence and stand up to my bullyers. I knew what I was made of and I knew no one was going to save me, so I became the strong hero I always wanted to be and saved a very important life: my own. 

I promised from that day on I would never let myself get beaten down without a fight. My power is inside of me, and no one else, so that's why I had to be my own hero. Sorry Superman, but this was a job for Alexa.


The author's comments:

In a world full of heroes, you have to look for who is always going to be there for you: yourself.


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