This I Believe

 I believe no one should be judged on who they are. In speech, I wrote an informative essay about LGBT+ bullying awareness. In this speech, I showcased how bullying could majorly affect an individual’s mental health, the bullying statistics of LGBT+ teens and children, and ways to help reduce bullying in your area. Bullying can majorly affect a person’s mental health, no matter who they are. Bullying can increase depression, self-harm, and can affect a student’s academic achievements. Being “out” or just being perceived as part of the LGBT community can put some youth at an increased risk of getting bullied. As someone who has experienced being bullied, even if you don’t realize it, bullying can affect your entire life. This worsened my social phobia, especially during high school. The sad part is most people don’t know how bullying really affected them until they become older. There are many, many strategies that anyone can use to help prevent bullying, especially in schools. 

Reporting bullying is the easiest way to make a change. If you see anyone who is getting bullied, encourage them to tell someone they can trust. If the bullying continues, report it yourself to a trusted adult or school staff member. Being alert to signs of distress in the hallways and classrooms is how you can stop LGBT and any other type of bullying. LGBT+ children, teens and even adults are being bullied (and in some worse cases, hate crimed and beaten) just for simply being themselves. Who deserves to go through that? No one. Some human beings are truly, truly awful. LGBT+ teens have an increased risk of getting bullied, which also increases the risk of depression. LGBT+ youth are 4 times as likely to attempt suicide and 2 and a half times more likely to self-harm. They are also more likely to experiment with alcohol and drugs because of the damaging effects of bullying. If we all work together, we can make a change. I believe that no one deserves to get bullied, no matter who they are. No one should be judged by being themselves.

-Allitini