Throughout middle school, I always felt like I didn’t fit into a group, I felt like I didn’t have friends. I had “associates” at school, but no true friends. I was different than the other kids, and as I showed those differences, I started being separated more and more. This carried on through high school and it got a lot worse. I started getting made fun of a lot more, and could see people looking at me with a disgusted look. Bullying took a serious toll on my life. My perspective on life changed. I’d been affected mentally and physically.

The statistics tying bullying to suicide are shocking. While suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people, resulting in about 4,400 deaths per year, according to the CDC, victims of bullying are up to 9 times more likely to consider suicide than non-victims (Yale University). Often, in many cases, bullying is dismissed, or put off as “child’s play,” however it is much more serious and takes a toll mentally on its victims.  According to Public School Review, “Students who are bullied often exhibit low self-confidence, frequently experiencing depression, suicidal thoughts, and even violent outbreaks.”

Not only does it affect a student’s mental state, bullying affects their performance as well. The CDC reports, “Students who experience bullying are at increased risk for poor school adjustment, sleep difficulties, anxiety, and depression.” Grades can go from average to below average, because students who are being bullied begin skipping school or refusing to try. Public School Review estimates that approximately 160,000 children miss school daily due to fear of bullying by other students. With statistics like this, it is difficult to understand how people still assume a little bit of bullying is harmless.

It is estimated 77% of students have been bullied mentally, verbally, or physically at school (isafe.org). Sadly, many people just ignore it or just push it aside. With such alarming statistics, schools need to do more. The American Society for the Positive Care of Children reports over 70% of young people have witnessed bullying in their schools, 62% have witnessed bullying two or more times in the last month, and 41% witness bullying once a week or more. Even more alarming is that 70.4% of staff reportedly see bullying at school. When a bystander intervenes in a bullying situation, more than half the time the bullying stops within 10 seconds. With this many staff members and students witnessing bullying, more should be done to intervene and stop it.

Bullying statistics must be brought to our attention, as that is the only way to change them. It can happen one person, and one school, at a time. Let Northmont High School start the trend.