Pass It On. Pay It Forward.

Today I watched a movie trailer that hit me pretty hard. It is for a movie called "Bully."

I have strong feelings, like I assume most of you do, on bullying.

When I was growing up, my dad was in the army. We moved about every other year. New school, new house, and new people. I had to make new friends a lot, which wasn't too hard most of the time. However, when I moved in fourth grade, things got harder. I was really behind in the school subjects (which I had never been before) and I often felt like I was getting special attention from the teacher, which made me feel even more uncomfortable as 'the new kid'. One day in particular, I remember coming home crying after a girl made fun of me from being "a monterey-an" (her term not mine) and telling me that my haircut was "off-key." Neither of her comments made much sense to me, but still they were public and they hurt.

Though I cannot say that I have ever been bullied to the degree portrayed in the video, I sympathize for those that have. Everyone at times feels alone, and at times some of us have been persecuted for our differences, whether that be the way we look or what we believe/value. On occasion, I have felt pretty alone and hurt before because of something that someone said or did to me, but I cannot imagine feeling like that everyday. Especially to the point where a person could be afraid for their life to go to school (a place that we are forced to go to in the first place).

In high school leadership, my advisor often stressed how important it is to reach out to those who might be shy, lonely, or bullied. I also went to many leadership conferences where this was stressed and how important our influence can be in the lives of others. I know that seeing videos like this pulls on your heart strings, and I really hope that it encourages you to act on your feelings. You never know what one small act of kindness can do.

Looking back, it amazes me how much those seemingly small jabs can really break a kid's day. I can't even imagine how much more it would hurt to be bullied any worse than that, and for the parents of the kids, how painful it would be to let them go to school or try to help them through it. I really hope that this movie resonates with people, and that they make a conscious effort to end bullying whenever possible by educating kids, parents, and other adults; and spreading kindness throughout campuses nationwide.

Remember, "you just might start a chain reaction." -Rachel Scott