Bullying is not something concrete, it can come at you in all shapes and forms. You might get physically harmed, called mean names, or just be excluded. This issue goes deeper than just bullying, it sinks into what we naturally are as humans. Human beings can be good, humble, and generous, but each and everyone of us confronts the evil that haunts our every being. Bullying is derived from the development of these characteristics at an early age. Therefore, to really have any chance at ridding the United States of bullying, we need to address the causes and continue to inform the current generation. In some aspects, this task seems as unrealistic as ridding the world of hunger and vice, the responsibility at hand is so large, that it will require everyone’s full cooperation.

As an immigrant coming into the Boston Public Schools, I did not know the language and had trouble fitting in with my classmates. Many made an effort to help me, while others made it their aim to put me down at any opportunity they had. At one point I was doing very well in school and they came at me even more aggressively; they called me fat, ugly, “bighead,” and if there ever was any teams to be made in gym, I would be the last one chosen.

During math class, a young boy that is quite socially awkward sits next to me. He got it much worse than I ever did; bullying gets much worse when it comes to males. He gets made fun of in every class, my classmates torment him on everything he has to say, telling him to “shut up, because no one wants to hear your comments.” I still remember when he once asked me, “What was the point of living if everyone hates me?” I never thought it was so serious and everyday I sat beside him and just watched as he was bombarded by cruel comments. I feel guilty for never having had the courage to stand up for him and it still haunts me to this day.

These bullies were not bad teens, they were perfectly sane. In reality, although they may have some fault, the blame befalls society as a whole. Our entire history and way of living instills in us the works of Social Darwinism. We live to belittle others; discrimination works to divide ourselves from others and hate on others for any differences. So how can we work to eliminate a quality that we all are born with? Simple, we have to start from where it begins. We have to begin to teach children at an early age the concepts of being open minded to different people. It is definitely possible, to change a myriad of peoples’ way of life, like with the abolition of slavery during the Civil War. We just have to start now to inform the general public about the issue because in the future it can grow into something unfathomable.