Bullying is a situation where someone makes several attempts to make you feel uncomfortable, punishes you unnecessarily or shows an inappropriate display of power over you. Bullying occurs everywhere but is mostly dominant in school especially high schools. Colleges are also involved in some forms of bullying also. I encountered some forms of bullying in school but with these skills I have, I was able to stand up to it.
Bullies are usually persons who feel others are better than them, so they want to make them feel bad in order to possess self gratification. Others bully others because they are superior in authority or more powerful than those they are bullying. I encountered these people while in high schools but I was able to overcome them through the knowledge I want to share with you now. While in high school I was among the youngest students in most of my classes and also kind of quiet, these gave some students the reason to attempt taking advantage of me. I was easily preyed on in my first year because I was still timid and had not yet developed the adequate skills I needed to stand up to oppressing situations.
In my high school days, I experienced the following forms of bullying;
- Being punished by senior students for no offence, often these were prolonged punishments, at other times corporal.
- Being hit, slapped and pushed by some students who were older and stronger than me.
- Being accused of doing a wrong or the other when I actually did none.
- Having my locked locker broken and kept open.
- Being pushed to engage in fights out of repetitive bullying.
- There was a time most of my classmates did not talk to me and I was ever lonely and depressed.
- Being called abusive names, among others.
More forms of bullies occur in school, the ones I listed are just what I experienced. Teachers can also be bullies at times, not all but some. A teacher who is a racist or punishes his students for insignificant offences is also a bully. I can still remember one of the teachers in the school I attended who asked a student to frog jump (a kind of military punishment) multiple times for going to the restroom without permission.
Knowing the different ways to stand up to bullies is therefore essential to prevent further bullies in school and other places. After my first year in high school where I was so timid and easily prone to emotions, bullies never really had their ways in my life and this is how I achieved it. I am going to tell you how I achieved that.
Confidence
This is the first and the basic tool you use against bullies. As you well know most of those who are bullied in school are always the timid, weak and emotional students, others therefore use these weaknesses to take advantage of them. You would never see an emotionally strong and highly confident student being bullied, even if some people attempt to try this, it will have no effect on such a person. With a high self-esteem you can ward off bullies because their main target are students who are not physically and emotionally strong.
When confronted by bullies, I maintained a steady status, I did not shake or act as if what they did had effects on me. You could imagine how I responded to their various harassing questions with morale, it was even this morale of mine that scared them away. They felt I would revenge if they should ever take advantage of me again. This is the major attribute you need, if you do not have, try developing it.
Avoiding Extreme Silence
Silence I know is a character of some students, that is just their lifestyle. They are reserved and do not talk too much. This in itself is not bad but when it is extreme, it could cause bullies to be attracted to you. Despite the fact that some extremely quiet persons are likewise extremely wicked especially when pushed to the wall, bullies see students who are so quiet as powerless hence the derive joy in causing them pains.
I was once a quiet person but seeing that being quiet in some situations will not help I decided to be outspoken. On oppression, I spoke out and challenged those who attempted such and also reported some bullies to my teachers and other volunteer students who subsequently confronted my bullies and made them stay away from me. So you need to be outspoken, only be quiet when you need to.
Being Sociable and Kind
Another measure to use and ward off bullies in school is by being kind and polite. These attitudes can help you a lot, there are lots of people I know who have been saved from dangerous situations just because they were kind to someone some times ago or even in the present.
This story I once heard of how a young girl was kidnapped by some highway kidnappers and taken to their den, the location where these kidnappers based to see their master. From there she was to be gang raped and murdered, as that was the usual thing whenever such beautiful ladies are kidnapped. This lady lost all hope because physically, there was no escape for her. She knew she would be raped and murdered but upon meeting the gangster who headed these kidnappers, a remarkable thing happened. Immediately this gangster saw her, he was surprised and inquired what she was doing there. The heartless gangster immediately ordered his men to release her. The kidnappers who had taken her to be raped and murdered were extremely surprised because that has never happened, their master had never called for the release of any victim so suddenly because their duty was to rob and kill their victims. The gangster let his subjects know that the reason he asked this girl to be released was because he can still remember many years back where she bought a plate of food for him and a drink upon approaching her to help him that he was hungry, then he was a street child, abandoned and left to fight for survival on the street. He would never forget the help she rendered him when most people he begged from insulted him and left without rendering a helping hand. His reason caused the other kidnappers to weep and this was how she was taken back to her car and hence she safely went off to her destination.
That is one of the various stories where a little act of kindness saved many from death and other fateful circumstances. This is likewise helpful in school, if you are a student and you are friendly with lots of people, helping them in any way you can whether financially if you are a rich child or academically if you are an intelligent type. It will happen that most of these people you help are those who will stand up for you in the face of oppression and some others are bullies who will never think of troubling you especially when they remember the good you had done or have been doing for them.
So in conclusion, I would say that the only ways you can prevent oppression and bullying in school is by being:
- Bold and courageous
- Having good character
- Not acting indifferent upon harassment at times.
Lifestyle-pro 