Theresa Neri 8/30/11
English 15
Essay 1: Proposal
In today’s society, there are numerous types of bullying that to an extent can be stopped, but not fully. Cyber bullying is known to be one of the easiest ways to victimize people and when hurtful sayings are posted onto social networks like Facebook and Twitter, it is challenging as a witness to get involved. I was a bystander of a fight that almost occurred; a fight between two tall freshmen boys in high school that would have regretted the consequences if there was just one punch thrown. Being a freshman in high school is tough enough to adjust to, but my role as being a senior mentor for these kids is to be a person that they can approach in any situation. Taking on this role may have been the best decision I made throughout high school. The typical stamina of a teenage boy is to look tough and at all costs not let your emotions shine through your mask. However, there is a point where one must get help from someone else before it is too late. My mentee, Phil, the typical freshman boy did everything to put him in the situation that almost was not stopped one feisty lunch period. I feel that this is an important story to share because everyone has gone through some time of bullying in his or her life whether they were the victim, bystander, or the bully him or herself. Telling a person prior about the threats of bullying does not make a person seem like a coward, but actually is beneficial for every party involved in the situation. Being the person who ended up getting in between the fight that almost struck made me go through some internal conflict; was getting involved the right thing to do? Since Phil did not originally approach me about his problems, he may have thought that he could handle the bully on his own. Also, by getting involved I took the risk that he may have been upset that I tried to fight his battle although I was only doing it for his best interest, which he may not have accepted after I stepped in. Every possible situation went through my mind before gaining the courage to stop the possible fight. It is not easy to gain the courage of getting in front of a room of people and standing in between two boys who are double your size. I want to send the message to any people who are likely to witness a situation where they are unsure if they should watch something harmful going on or take a stop to it! This story also applies to teenagers or young adults who are being bullied and think they can overcome a bully when asking for help may be the best option. I believe that everyone has or will go through a situation like this and it does not have to be a physical fight going on that a person needs to get involved in, but with the social media at a new height, finding ways to stand up for people that are being bashed online is also an act similar to mine. In my memoir, I want the readers to fully understand the contemplation I went through to make my decision to stop the fight with limited time before a punch actually was thrown. A person cannot stop every fight that goes on in the world, but standing up for someone can really make an enormous impact on the victim, the bully and every other bystanders’ life. If me, a girl five feet, one inch can be able to stand up in between two giant teenage boys and stand up for someone, then why can’t everyone else do the same?
