Bullying

Hello - Pinestar here! Today something happened that inspired a new post.

Well, just 30 minutes ago, my friends and I were going on the subway. Somehow, my friend and I ended up in one car, and my other friend ended up in another! So when we got to the next stop, my friend and I rushed out to switch cars. Turns out that my other friend had the same idea - and we crashed into each other! Luckily, we managed to stumble our way into the subway before the doors closed, and I accidentally pushed two girls on my way.

Turns out that these girls were LUNATICS. I heard one of them mutter, "If she ever pushes me again, I swear I will punch her in the face." A few moments later, the other one turned to my friend and snarled, "You want to roll your eyes at me again?"

Of course my friend (who has GOT to be the nicest person on Earth) said, "I'm not," to which the girl replied, "You better not be."

At this point I was VERY angry, but because I love my face so much, I decided not to say anything. Instead, I buried my face in my phone and showed my friends random pictures on it. One of my friends murmured, "Anna, put your phone down NOW. This is not the time."

But was I going to let these girls bully me into standing there like a wimp, trembling on my legs? NO. So I answered, "No. I'm not going to," and kept pointing out pictures.

The girls got off at the next stop *thank GOD* and we were "safe." But that didn't mean we weren't annoyed.

Bullying has become an increasingly difficult problem in the United States. Some kids have even killed themselves over it. Being bullied? Well, I know it can be hard, but don't commit suicide. The trick is to be strong. If the bullies sense that you're weak, they'll gain more power. But you have to stand on your own two feet.

Now, don't go OVERBOARD. If my friend had said, "So what if I was rolling my eyes? What you going to do about it?" instead of "I'm not," she probably would have a large bruise on her jawbone right about now. But she didn't, because she (in fact, all three of us) chose to be the better person. We didn't stoop to their level and start a random fistfight in the middle of the subway car. Instead, we decided that we were going to use the GOLDEN RULE...which most of you have probably heard of. Treat others how you would want to be treated.

Yeah, yeah, it can get annoying, especially when people aren't treating you the way you KNOW you would want to be treated. But remember, stay strong. Be the bigger person. Bullying shouldn't be an oppurtunity to crumble to the ground...It should be a chance for you to build yourself back up.

**Pinestar** (or Ammie)