The first day of high school: for some kids, it’s the scariest day in their life. For others, it’s a day to start new. Think back to your first day of high school. How were you feeling? Did that feeling of nervousness in the pit of your stomach bother you the night before? Or was your excitement too great to handle? On the first day of high school, everyone is equal. Sure, there are the “popular” groups, made from junior high, but this is high school; the big league. The first couple of weeks are the most important. It’s time to show your classmates who you really are. Throughout the year, though, kids are cycled through and pushed further and further down the food chain until they hit rock bottom. Now, their high school experience is ruined and labeled the worst four years of their life.

How did they fall so quickly? Bullying. One of the most important issues involved in every school. Bullying is a threat to students. Not only can bullying impact a person physically, but it can hurt someone emotionally, maybe causing the thoughts to participate in reckless activities, like drinking or drugs. No one really understands how much being bullied can impact someone’s life; not until being bullied themselves. Being bullied makes your feel worthless, unwanted, stupid, unimportant; embarrassed…the list goes on.

Bullying directly means, “The use of superior strength or influence to intimidate someone, typically to force him or her to do what one wants.” In reality, bullying is used in many more unfortunate circumstances. For example, a student who is significantly smaller than the rest of his class has probably been nicknamed “pipsqueak” for the rest of his life, or so he thinks. He was probably looking forward to high school. To starting over and being treated like an adult. However, on the first day of school he is pushed aside like a piece of trash and made fun of in front of everyone. There goes his whole high school career. It starts spiraling downward on day one, and no one thinks twice about how he feels. He just drops his head and hopes to make it through the next four years on two feet.

Words have more impact than people think. Sure, pushing someone up against a locker does something to their self-esteem, but when they are called a jerk or are called fat, well, that sticks with them forever. Those words will always be engrained in their memory. A constant reminder of the failure they were. But, in reality, they will be the ones to study hard and be good at something. Graduate early, get a job, or do well on a test. They will strive to find something that can take away the suffering they’ve been through. Then again, bullying shouldn’t be an issue to begin with. No one deserves to feel worthless. Stop bullying. Start RESPECT.