November 17th, 2011
On Tuesday, November 15th, we attended Majic 100’s #NoMoreBullies Campaign at Rockland District High School. This tour lead by the Majic 100 crew, travels to different schools in the Ottawa and surrounding areas and discusses the various issues of bullying and the trauma it has on one’s life. As fellow students of Rockland District High School, we were excited to see what this presentation would be like. Each having the experience of being bullied throughout stages of our lives, we were intrigued as to how this presentation would affect us. What we were met with was sheer astonishment and tear-jerking emotion.
While we were watching this presentation, We were astounded and inspired by the various media that was used to portray the corruption of today`s childhood, otherwise known as bullying. This was unlike any bullying presentation we’ve seen. Hearing the guest speakers stories and how bullying has affected their lives, whether directly or not, was truly inspiring. In addition, the fact that this presentation was directed at youth and having people that youth can relate to was even more effective in getting the point across. Also, the videos that were presented to us were incredible, such as the one of Jamie Hubely, a 15-year old boy who committed suicide after dealing with the pain and torment of being bullied because he was gay. This just proves that even the happiest of people, people that you would not expect to harm themselves can do it so easily just because of something as senseless as bullying. Also, it shows how bullying will scar a person for the rest of their lives.
We were also shocked to hear of some very startling statistics, such as the fact that suicide is the second leading cause of deaths amongst teenagers, aside from accidents. This really put things into perspective as to the damaging effects that bullying has on a child. Making them feel like a crumpled up piece of paper, as they showed in the presentation. Overall, this presentation has opened our eyes as to how serious bullying has really become. It is also amazing to know that there are now many programs and resources, such as Youth Net that helps children and teenagers deal with bullying and the struggles of everyday life. Some of these included snowboarding, art and yoga programs that allow youth to escape from the daily stress of life and give them the chance to interact with others that are going through the same things as them. It also gave people a chance to talk to professionals from CHEO and get advice on how to deal with the problems they were facing. They showed us different ways to deal with depression, stress, anxiety and bullying.
In all, we found this presentation to be one of the most inspiring presentations we have ever seen. It made us feel empowered and strong, knowing that we are not the only ones out there that have dealt with this problem and that it gave us the power to stand up to bullying and help end it once and for all.
# NoMoreBullies
Written by Shannon LeBlanc
Student at Rockland District High School
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