MORE THAN 13 REASONS WHY!

Many of us have been there before. A little whisper, a nudge, a tossed book, a threat to see you after school, the chase home from the bus.

That was the old days!

Now it's a picture here, a rumor there, a lie on the internet, a threat to murder.

Bullying still remains in the halls of education from elementary through college, and it's never going away. Based on my children's views, it is not what it once was... but how do they know?

Bullying may have roamed the halls of students more abundantly in years past, but now, it's taken on a whole new form of creation, and it only takes one child, teen, or college student to make us all aware of the atrocity of this human lack of justice toward our fellow beings.

I have recently torn through most of the first season of 13 Reasons Why on Netflix Originals. A television style formatted show that carries us unknowingly through the history of a girl's experience at a new high school before she committed suicide.

Correct, we already know from the beginning that she committed suicide. Well, I haven't finished the first season yet and wanted to write this before I do, because I am unsure as to what the ending of the journey will be. I have to admit, that I almost hope that it's all a dream and that this character didn't kill herself, but that the whole creation is just a lesson to young people in the world today.

Chances are, she did kill herself since her parents seem to be playing the part of bereaving parents.

I really don't want to give away the story, or much else, so I'll leave my discussion of the show here.

With that in mind, I do want to touch on some of the attitudes that prevail in the students directly involved and not directly involved.

You might wonder why I write on this topic, and what my outcome might be, as I have decided to write about hope and inspiring things from now on. Well, that is what I intend to do. 

You see, I lived this life of bullying and what I experienced is different from this character's experiences. Further, I'd hate to say that my childhood was worse than what she has gone through in the movie so far. That's just it! The base of how bullying can cause a lifetime of pain or an end to a life.

We all experience it in a different way because we are all different. We carry different hearts, different thoughts, and different feelings within each of us. Some are more sensitive... you can chalk me up to that description early in life, and then some of us are hard.

I don't believe this is always a result of your upbringing either. I had two other brothers, and we all experienced different levels of bullying where we grew up. Yet, we all grew up in the same household. My older brother took it head on with anger. I ran afraid. My younger brother laughed it off. Three totally different responses to bullying, but all with the same upbringing. I feel that this supports my theory that we are all born with individual ways of handling life, despite our immediate environment. 

Now, I am not going to sit here and write that my brothers didn't have as big of a heart as I did. They just had different hearts. John was strong, I was weak, and Chris was blase.

I remember my older brother getting into fights with the local teens all the time, even defending me sometimes. I remember my younger just walking away laughing at people. Both were effective. But I took everything to heart, and let it hurt me more than it should have. Why? I have no idea. 

Before the age of 10 or 11, when I finally stood up to my neighborhood's biggest bully our age, only in order to protect my younger brother from what was a sure threat to hurt him, I was picked on, called names, chased home from the bus many days, and even trapped near the bus after school and punched in the stomach and arms. Luckily, I've only been hit in my face twice ever in my life when I was older, and that didn't go very well for the other participant at all. Even at school, I was called names and picked on by both girls and boys, and always picked last for every gym or sports event we were all involved in. I would try to get in line first to get on the bus, so that I could be first off at my stop. I did have one advantage over everyone, excpet Robbie. I was the second fastest kid in the whole development. Luckily, Robbie didn't come along until I was 10 or so, and by then I stood my ground with him. We actually ended up friends eventually. 

So, there you have it. My wonderful childhood. On top of that, both of my brothers would entrap me in situations of fighting I didn't want to be a part of, and even went as far as to put me in a very large wooden toy box, and sit on the cover for 10 or 20 mintues, until I was screaming so loud, they had to let me out. All I remember from those years, is crying. Whether it was from parental beatings, or peer brutality.

Some might say this was no big deal. Just the common life of many kids. But, as I mentioned before, it was not common to me, or my heart, as it is not to those of the hearts that you may have bullied, or that may be getting bullied now.

Where am I going with this... Well, the art of bullying is usually brought on by just the opposite type of persona. These kids, teens, or college students have either been born or taught to be this way. Sure, it's easy to create programs in schools in which we try to teach how bad and wrong bullying is. That may just work for the ones who have good hearts and just learned from their older siblings or their home environment. 

What about the heartless though? They do exist you know. I have received apologies from some of my old schoolmates, and one of my brothers, and my elder. But, some of these people I've run into still carry the same type of facade, and intensity that made them the bullies they were back then.

Again, that was the old days of bullying. Harmless words, and fights, right?

Now, it's a whole new dimension in which bullying takes on a completely different paradigm. Now, these children, teens, and adults have phones, cameras, recorders and more with them every day. They carry guns, knives, bombs, and even advanced weaponry at times.

Bullying is not simple anymore, and it doesn't have to be widespread to be a huge problem. These human beings who are bullied for being different are now put in the limelight. They are plastered all over the internet for not just a few people as the old days with rumors, but to hundreds, thousands, and millions to see. Their hearts, their minds, their souls are torn apart, stomped on, and thrown out like a dead carcass before they have even had a chance to live life.

13 Reasons Why brings this kind of humiliation to the forefront for us all to see. I strongly suggest, if you are reading this, and haven't seen it, and have Netflix (Who doesn't), to watch it, if this is a topic of interest to you or means even more than that in your world. Whether it has been you or is your child or someone you know, it is time to tackle this ugly monster head on!

It is time for people like me and those who somehow survived countless thoughts of death and suicide over the years, that are now strong, to stand up and speak, to make videos, to get in touch with our souls, and make a difference, so that we can save just one more life if even possible!

It is not just about the bullying or the bully. It is more about the victims, and what kind of being they are inside. How can they handle it, what is happening, who is involved, how can you help? 

Don't be afraid to talk to teachers, to principles, to other parents, and School Administration. Don't let anyone slough it off as unimportant, or as a program that's being worked on in the meantime. We need more than programs, we need more actions and more oversight in the world of bullying. Those who can be taught to stop should be taught, and those that can not be controlled should be expelled, and watched very closely by authorities of all kinds.

It's time to protect the futures of all children, teens, and adults who are different! It's time to celebrate them and who they are, who they want to be, and who they have to be to be happy!

This can be a World of LOVE, if we all try harder every day! I hope I'm doing my part with this article, and wish I could do even more! 

There are more than 13 Reasons Why bullying should stop. In fact, there are Billions of Reasons Why...