Bullying is a big issue in and around schools. There are many reasons as to why people are bullied (body image, sexuality, etc.). Many bullies have their reasons, but none of them make it okay for them to bully others because of how they look, act, or for who they like. In elementary school, I had a friend who was bullied because of her sexuality.

My friend Natalie was bullied in the 5th grade after everyone found out that she was bisexual. The bullying started out with rude comments that later turned into constant cyber-bullying and comments in school. I know what it feels like to see someone break into a million pieces. Natalie tried not to show any pain in front of others, but as her friend, I saw right through her.

She later became very depressed, and after two months of the constant bullying, her foster mom decided it was time to move to a different city. On her last day at school, everybody said the harshest words to her like "Good Riddance Whore!" and "I Wish You Were Never Born!" I never knew that 5th graders could be so mean to another peer just because she liked a girl. And after Natalie moved, everyone acted like the past two months had never happened.

The issue of bullying has become a very large issue in society. In 2015 YRBSS (the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System) conducted a study about LGB bullying. In the study, 34% of LGB students were bullied on school property and 10% were threatened or injured by a weapon.

In my opinion, it doesn’t matter if you like boys and/or girls. Diversity is good for the society. If everyone and everything acted and looked the same, there would be nothing fun about life. Diversity brings new chances to learn about one another and brings multiformity.

A study by educational psychologists Kenneth Hensen and Beth Eller has shown that students work better in an environment that is more diverse. The diversity enables them to concentrate and push themselves further when there are people of other backgrounds working alongside them.

Nobody can chose what gender they like or how they look. They were created to be the way they were supposed to be created. And no one deserves to be bullied because of their sexuality, body image, etc. In some cases everything works out and goes back to normal, but in Natalie's case it didn't work out as well as I hoped for. Once she left, she never came back.

However, we can prevent Natalie's situation. In schools there aren’t many students that try to stop students from getting bullied. Once in a while teachers do get involved, but they can’t really do anything about it. When involved teachers try to create a safer environment for the students, they try to assess the issue of bullying. Bullying happens because of us (the students) and the only way we can stop bullying is if we change our behavior towards others. A way you can prevent bullying is to stand up against bullying and if you see someone getting bullied, talk to a trustworthy adult about what is happening.