Bullying in schools is an immensely serious issue. This causes low self-esteem in students and can lead to even more tragic events. It is everywhere. As much as we try to eliminate it, it is still there.

WHAT IS BULLYING
First, what is bullying? “Bullying is repeated behavior with the intention to harm,” says Mrs. Foster, the guidance counselor at Blackhawk Middle School. There are many types of bullying, but the most common types of bullying are physical bullying, social bullying, and cyber bullying. Physical bullying is more obvious than the other types of bullying, especially when it takes place on school grounds. Schools can’t help you with cyber bullying until someone on the internet sees the bullying and reports it to the school. Social bullying is always obvious to the victim.

Picture this. You’re walking to your third period class, in a rush because your second period teacher held the whole class a minute after the bell. You don’t want to be late. A kid “accidently” trips you, causing you to drop your books. You let it go because you think it was an accident. Later, on your way to seventh period, the same kid trips you and calls you “weak and stupid”. Now you start to get skeptical, because it was the same person. A week later, it happens again. Soon it starts to happen every day. Your self-esteem goes down the drain, your grades slip, you start missing school because you feel “sick”. This a perfect example of bullying in school. This could have happened to anyone.

HOW DOES THE SCHOOL REACT
First of all, the school needs to know this is happening. If they don’t know, they can’t help you. However, what if the bully tells you that if you inform your parents or the school, they’ll fight you? Now you’re scared to tell your parents you are being bullied. You can’t let this stop you. Hopefully you have a good friend that notices this and tells the school for you, but that doesn’t always happen.

Once you tell the school you are being bullied, they should run an investigation. “Bullying is not allowed and schools must investigate to determine if an incident is bullying, if it is, we must file a report,” states Foster. If you are depressed or have low self-esteem, they should connect you with someone who can help you get back to a healthy level of self-esteem. For the bully, they should call the parents to inform them about their behavior. You should not feel sorry for yourself that you have gotten someone into trouble. You helped yourself stop the bullying.

Finally, you have received help! Your self-esteem is back to a healthy level, your grades are back up, and you’re not missing as much school. You are thankful you told someone so that you could succeed in school again.

THE EFFECTS OF BULLYING
At first it may seem your best friend doesn’t want to hang out with you anymore. You only see her fourth period, lunch, and seventh period. You see she doesn’t talk to you anymore, she’s sad all the time, gives you short answers, and is moody every time you talk to her. You hope she grows out of it, she’s just going through a stage that will be over in a few weeks. The only problem is, it drags on for months.

This is a typical situation. Your best friend could be bullied. Since you don’t see her that often, it is entirely plausible. You bring your concerns to the guidance counselor, who tells you she will talk to your friend.

Sadly, you find out your friend was being bullied. The effects of bullying can be traumatic. Victims can suffer from depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, loneliness, poor grades, and absences from school. Even more tragically, students who suffer from mental illnesses caused by bullying can ultimately take their life.