Bullying is negatively affecting so many lives of children and teens. This past week was anti-bullying week aimed to raise awareness about how horrible bullying is and to stop bullies in their tracks.

What are the different types of bullying?

One very common form of bullying is verbal bullying. Have you ever heard of the saying, “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me?” Well, this saying is WRONG. Words do hurt, and they do affect peoples lives. Verbal bullying can consist of teasing, name-calling, gossiping, threats, and making insults.

Another form of bullying is physical bullying. This can consist of punching, kicking, and hitting. This type of bullying is much more common with boys, because girls tend to put others down verbally.

Because of the advancements in technology these days a more recent form of bullying is called cyber bullying. It is basically using electronic devices to put down other people. Actually, this is probably the worst type of bullying because it can reach people at any time, not just face to face.

This is an extremely moving video talking about cyber bullying, and it’s effects.

Why do people bully?

More often than not bullies are rude and mean because they want to feel better about themselves. By making the victim feel sad and upset they feel more powerful. Often, bullies have problems going on at home which make them angry, so they take out their anger on other people. These problems could possibly be their parents getting a divorce or money problems.

Bystanders:

A bystander is a person who is there, but not involved. These people are actually part of the problem as well. By not doing anything they are contributing to the problem and not improving the situation for the victim(s.)

How can YOU help?

#1: Stand up for someone being bullied.

#2: Give support to someone being bullied.

#3: Go with the victim(s) to talk to a teacher or trusted adult about the situation.

#4: Raise awareness about the bullying issue by talking to your friends about it, writing about it on social media, or speaking at a school assembly. Actually, a couple of years ago I spoke at my school’s speech competition about bullying.

#5: Apologize to someone you previously bullied.

How will YOU  stop bullying in it’s tracks? Please share any of YOUR bullying stories or ways that you are taking action to help stop bullying by commenting below.

Thanks for joining me on my journey to change the world!

-Diviya

This past Halloween was an amazing success for me and my friends, Lauryn, Melody, Maddie, Sanjana, and Emily. We collected so many canned goods to donate to the Markham Food Bank. A week before Halloween, me and one of my friends distributed little papers in my neighbours’ mailboxes to notify them that we would be coming around on Halloween to collect canned goods. It was actually more exciting and fun this year than past Halloweens because all of us knew we were making a difference in our community. Some people actually had whole bags ready for us by their doorstep.

By the end of the night, we had collected an astonishing total of 151 cans of food! 

After, we brought all our food to the Markham Food Bank and they were overjoyed! The people there were so nice to us and even taught us a bit of how the Markham Food Bank works. Actually, all the staff at the food bank are volunteers who are dedicating their time to improving the lives of others who are less fortunate in there community. They told me that the people that visit the food bank are usually not homeless people, but ordinary people that are having trouble making ends meet. Gladys is the founder of the Markham Food Bank and she started it approximately 30 years ago and comes to work every single day! She is so inspiring because she is so committed to helping people in need.  She actually gave us a certificate of appreciation to recognize what we did to help people in our community.

This campaign made me realize that not everybody is as fortunate as me and many people rely on food banks for their three meals a day.

So now, I challenge YOU to take action to improve the lives of people in your community. This holiday season be on the lookout for food bank drop-offs in your community to make a contribution.

Thanks for joining me on my journey to change the world!

–Diviya