Bullying today has such a negative connotation. Bullying is something that everyone deals with at some point in their life. We are always shown documentaries on it and “worst-case-scenario” situations. At some point or another, schools make sure to give their students the bullying talk to avid any “worst-case-scenario” situations.

Well, I'm not going to sit here and write another article for you about how bullying is bad, and how no one should do it, and how it hurts people, and how we need to take action... etc. etc.

This is an article about why bullying is okay.

I definitely had my fair-share of bullies in my day and even though it sucked when the bullying was happening, I'm a better person today because of it. Instead of sitting around feeling sorry for myself and wanting someone to defend me, I'm stronger. Instead of getting sad about someone name-calling me or excluding me, I don't waste my tears or my time.

In today's day and age, we live in a hyper-sensitive society. Everyone is quick to play the victim and point fingers at “bullies”, but no one is willing to take their bullying experience, and use it to grow as a person. Instead of feeling sorry for ourselves, we should challenge ourselves and try to be better and prove bullies wrong, and/or embrace our flaws as right.

When we are bullied we want the bullying to stop, but we don't have control over the bullies. All we can control is ourselves and our reactions. Being bullied teaches you reality. Though many parents want their children to be untouched and kept in a little bubble, bullying is good for growth; it helps build character. Bullying teaches kids social and social norms. Yes, many bullies are malicious and have bad intentions, but bullying is part of life when it comes to relationships and social situations. Without being bullied we probably wouldn't know how to handle ourselves in certain situations. We need to stop looking at bullying as someone always being a victim. Because yeah, it's hard when it's happening, but once it's over and you look back, you appreciate that you went through the experience.

Kids need to learn they cannot do whatever they want always. There are standards that kids need to be held to, especially in school, such as respecting your teacher, doing your work, etc. For example, if a child is being disrespectful to a teacher and the other kids or teacher are “bullying” the child in return, maybe the child will change their ways. Maybe the child will realize they are exhibiting an inappropriate behavior. In these situations, the child may not ever change their ways or grow in character if they were never bullied. In a sense, bullying can be interpreted as negative reinforcement by peers.

I'm not talking about cyber bullying or physical bullying, but I am saying that many people overreact when it comes to bullying. Most bullying is name-calling, frenemy, petty kind of stuff. This kind of bullying helps children grow. Of course, there are situations where bullying is severe and malicious, and bullying should absolutely be minimized, but we need to start looking at it in a different way. People look at bullying as a problem that needs to be solved, but someone cannot grow into the person they are meant to be without some kind of constructive criticism from peers. If we aren't bullied we risk wasting our time on people who don't care. Bullying shows you who really cares and who doesn't. How people handle bullying shows true character.

Bullying is important for children's growth and maturity because it helps children to be “put in their place” so to speak by their peers instead of always their parents. If children have a bad behavior and they don't want to listen when their parents discipline them about it (If their parents discipline them about it) they will maybe change the behavior wth their peers. Bullying is a learning experience, not a curse. It's an opportunity for people to be introspective and look within themselves to find who they are really meant to be.