I personally believe I am a person who attempts to assist anyone in all their outstanding tasks. I have worked with Best Buddies for many years to make it known to mentally disabled children that they will always have a friend. This program works by pairing a disabled student with another peer to give them a support system outside their families and educators within their school. I have a learning disability and try my hardest to never use that as an excuse for any measure. I graduated high school with 9,000 dollars in scholarship money due to all my hard work and involvement throughout the years in my community. Though even though I consider myself a good person, that did not stop me from being a target of bullying.
The transition to college was particularly difficult for me due to bullying. I never dealt with a stereotypical ‘mean girl’ before, and due to that was faced with many tough decisions. I tried to calmly talk to her on multiple occasions about how her verbal insults hurt me. I recommend this course of action first to anyone having a problem with another individual because sometimes a person does not realize how much their words do affect others. However, if you have tried this and have not seen any improvement, you can’t argue with ignorance. The worst thing to do is try the same thing over and over again and hope for different results. I did the worst thing possible and tried to through mutual friends; this may seem like a good idea at the time, but you put your friends in an awkward situation. For me personally, this added fuel to the fire and lead to terrible comments about me being circulated throughout my friend group.
If your friends are not going to defend you then it is a choice you have to make about the kind of people who you want as friends. I have forgiven the past and the old friends who were bystanders and my former bully for their mistreatment of me. This did not take a day or a month, it took me a while to get to this peaceful state of what happened to me. No matter who you are no one deserves to be bullied, everyone has imperfections. Though coming out of being physically and mentally abused I had two choices: remain in the past, or better myself. I choose to get more involved on my campus and to help others, which has lead me to be proud of myself. I want to thank my former college bully because without her I wouldn’t have the group of amazing friends I met after who always have my back or put into perspective how important my values are. Joining ASBO (Alternative Spring Break Organization) allowed me to overcome this constant inner struggle and travel to Florida to work with Habitat for Humanities to develop low-cost housing for families in need. Volunteering is a massive piece of who I identify myself as and I pride myself on that. I want to be a role model to students to show that you truly can get through any challenge.
Even after being recently assaulted by the girl at a Stony Brook concert I can’t help but feel sorry for her. She chose to live in the past and goes out of her way to make it known to everyone that ‘I am a terrible person.’ I have learned that you can’t please everyone, which is hard for me as a people pleaser. You have to take each day and look for the positives in it. There is no shame in going to CAPS on campus and talking to someone through the tough times. The hard thing about any challenge in our lives is to keep living and to not be consumed by a person or action. In our society, we view tears as a sign of weakness though I feel we have it backwards and that they are really a sign of strength. However, you can’t cry forever you need to go out and find the things you love to do and eventually let go of the pain.
In conclusion the only word to describe myself is me. I am truly unique and a one of a kind person, as we are all. I hope this article helped you get to know more about me on a personal level. I tried to write this many times and have come to realize this was harder than any essay I was given to write. Throughout life we have to figure out the person we want to be and the values we want to acquire. Many freshmen may be worried that they are just learning who they are, and that’s ok. It has taken me years to figure out my life and have faced multiple challenges, such as bullying. The challenges I faced only make me stronger and led me to figure out the kind of people I wanted in my life, which has lead me to be a better person. You have to remember everything is a learning curve, and that you will learn from your mistakes.
And lastly don’t forget your haters are your biggest fans!
