• My Freedom, My Right to a Safe Learning Environment, My Declaration of Independence.


    We are the students that make up the fine schools of the world. We may be children in the eyes of our elders, but we are people none the less. As people we have certain unalienable rights to a happy and, if there is such a thing, a stress free education. Is it not our right to be able to walk thru the hallowed halls of this fine school without fear? Fear should not be something that controls us or effects our education. It is our right to go to school and be able to do so without fear. Fear and terror does not make for a safe and nurturing learning environment for ripe young minds to grow and develop. School is meant to be a place for us students to be able to go and learn and prosper, not a place for our spirits to be crushed down like little bugs, nor is it a place where we should have to deal with name calling or teasing or bullying. There has been more than enough death caused by the stress and drama of high school. It is time for things to change. I demand it, as a student, as a United States citizen, for the right to be able to go to school and learn, not be tormented and teased. No student, no matter how different and strange they may seem, should have to go thru that.
    Cliques, peer pressure and all around drama and stress, all part of the normal high school experience? Unfortunately the answer is yes. It is expected for you to be put thru the torment and horrors of high school life. Is it right? Absolutely not! That should not have to be true. I have no desire to come to school some days, knowing that all that waits for me is nothing more than pointless drama and stupid rumors. Stress, sometimes it can push us to our limits and teach us how to succeed, but sometimes it pushes us to horrid extents. Sometimes it drives us insane; other times it makes us want to rip the hair from our heads. Drama and rumors spread thick and heavy, causing such large amounts of tension and hatred towards our fellow students. It makes the air so thick it seems almost as if you could cut through it with a knife.
    People who spread rumors or start drama, adding to the already stress filled life of a teenager are the lowest of the low in my eyes. We are taught at a young age bullying and prejudice is wrong, that we were all created equal, right? Well it sure does not seem so. Whoever taught us how to treat our fellow man must be kicking themselves in the butt because it is a terrible disgrace. We judge people on their looks, not on how they look on the inside, not on their personality or any such things that truly matter; we do not look past what is skin deep. Instead of treating everyone as if they are equal, we form cliques and groups, excluding people who are not just like you or fit to a certain exact image. We hate change, we despise it! We hate when something is different and most of the time if it is an object we may want it destroyed or moved so we do not have to change our lives to accept the new object into our daily routine. If it’s a person we act all high and mighty and cannot get off our high horse. We make ourselves feel so by teasing them, by mocking the poor person, or even by making them feel like they are nothing more than worthless stains on the complex carpet of life, that they do not matter at all. Do you know how it ends? Death, or we push a poor person so far that they just snap and return one day to that same school and start shooting everyone in sight like
    at the shooting at Virginia Tech. We push a person so far over the edge into the horrible black void of depression that they see no other way to end the pain, no other way out than to take their own lives, just to get rid of all the teasing, to make the insults stop, to finally make the pain, the horrible inhumane pain go away and finally feel peace.
    You must be wondering, what can I, just a mere person do to help make this stop? You can do so much, such simple little things to help. For example you could let a new person join your group of friends if you see them all by themselves. You could try to be more accepting of new ideas and beliefs. All you have to do is try, just simply try. Why should you try? Simple, because you have probably been bullied, teased or picked on, or even pushed so far that you wanted to commit suicide. You know how horrible and dreadful it feels. Should anyone else have to go thru that horror as well? We were all created equal in the eyes of God, yet we don’t act like it. So come on and break off the shackles of social reform that has been pounded into your heads since birth. Fight for your rights to feel safe in school. Haven’t there been enough needless deaths? Haven’t enough people died because of fighting and war? Do we really need to add anymore unnecessary deaths to that list? Why can’t we just all get along? Ask yourself this, have you ever really truly tried?
    What will I do to try and change things for the better in my school? Simple, I will try and be nice to someone no matter how much they annoy me or how different and strange they may seem or no matter how different they may look or act. I will try and be a true friend, be there when they need someone to talk to, to offer advice, to be a shoulder they can cry on, or even a crutch when they need strength. Even such a simple thing as give them a big old hug, or a big cheerful heartfelt smile to someone who seems to be having a bad day. Just a simple gesture of kindness can go such a long way and can mean so much. Just think of what kind gestures others have shown towards you. Keep that in mind next time you see someone who seems down in the dumps. Maybe if we all could try to be a little friendlier, maybe just a tiny bit more understanding, we could all get along a whole lot better, and the world would certainly be a much better and happy place to live in. Not just for me or you or for any other of us students or all of our parents and teachers, but for every single man, women and child out there. You will see if you really truly try you, yes you can make a big difference in someone’s life. You can help change the world.