Cyberbullying: My Heinous Memoir by Nia

Cyberbullying: My Heinous Memoir by Nia - December 2016 Scholarship Essay

It was around 12 in the morning on a particular day in my junior year of high school. I had fallen asleep early after a long theatre rehearsal. I was startled from my sleep by several messages from friends. “OMG, get on Twitter right now!!!” “Are you awake???” “Please tell me it’s not true…” Puzzled and frightened from the sudden chaos, I brought myself to log on to twitter. Tears instantly filled my eyes. I couldn’t believe what I was reading. The entire school was making a laughing stock of my name. I had never been called such horrid names in my life. To make matters even worse, it was a Sunday night. I’d have to face these kids in a few hours. I knew I had to walk around and act like nothing happened, but I was prepared to fight. I knew I’d be the topic of conversation in every class, whether I was there or not. My name was involved in an alleged scandal: I was the joke of my high school.
The next day at school, two of my close friends told the dean of students about the twitter scandal. He printed several screenshots of countless tweets saying the most odious things about me. Days went by… weeks, months. Nothing had been done about the cyberbullying. I wasn’t the only victim at the school. Several of my friends were attacked by these vicious bullies: being called several disgusting names. Back and forth we ran to the dean’s office. Does the school not care about its atmosphere? I question the integrity and sincerity of any school system that does not address cases such as these.
Cyberbullying is a serious issue. It ruins the atmosphere of a great school. Who cares about academic achievements when the students are on the brink of a mental shutdown because their character has been attacked repeatedly and the school’s administration has done nothing but encourage such behaviors by taking no action to stop them.
Combating cyberbullying is especially important. It’s not as easy as just shutting down your computer or logging off of social media. Even if you are away, the gossip lives on. The only difference is that you aren’t there to see it. You may not have to face it online but you still have to deal with the effects in your everyday life. Parents and school systems need to join forces to put an end to cyberbullying. It ruins the minds of young people before they are fully developed.
Overlooking cyberbullying enforces cynicism, substandard people skills, and it also promotes the suicide epidemic. My experience taught me that dealing with cyberbullying must be stressed. How many more children have to die for people to see that this is a real problem? How many more kids must die in vain? How many voices of victims must go unheard? Every death counts. Cyberbullying is real, and it is up to us to stop it.
I decided to tell my story to the principal of our school and let her know what was going on. It is usually protocol not to discuss what is really going on with adults but in this case, I’m glad I did. During my senior year of high school, I have noticed a big difference in the way the administration has been handling cyberbullying and bullying in general. The teachers are talking about the issue, there are flyers up at the school indicating where students can go for help if there are having issues with bullying, and there is more of a culture of “zero tolerance” around bullying people. People that have been accused of the practice have suffered harsh consequences this year. I am not saying that my candid conversation with our principal was the only cause for all of the changes and awareness, but I know for sure my decision to come forward made an impact. I’m so glad that I didn’t just keep silent.