We all remember sitting through those teen bullying lectures in Zone, how the school had a bully awareness week. While those were truly meant to be helpful, typically, those who do the most to stop bullying are those who have been through it themselves.Many people are aware of the effects of verbal teasing like a snide comment made to someone, but what people do not realize is just how the non-vocal teasing, like laughing at someone, can be equally as painful as hurtful words to another person.It is funny how in today’s society sarcasm is as common as the heat, yet we are pushed so hard to be politically correct in public. It’s small choices like your vocabulary, however, that can have long term effects on people around you.  Take for example, the come-back “your mom.” Not everyone has a mom. And while saying that to someone in a joking manner may not be considered any sort of teasing or verbal abuse, it can still have the same painful effect on people if they do not have a mother.

Another behavior that can be taken personally is laughter. No, not laughing with your friends about a silly mistake – laughing at someone in a possibly uncomfortable situation. Take for example, a boy has to make a speech in his communications class, and while some people would be perfectly fine with that, this boy has severe shyness. If people laughed while the boy stood, wide eyed and silent, in front of the class, the result would be hidden pain that would just build up. What happens after that just builds up inside for a long time.

The results are almost always painful, sometimes fatal. Think of all the expressed threats and fights we have seen in the history of our high school career. Every action given by a person is a direct result of a person’s internal thoughts and feelings. This may mean that, logically, a person who is nice to people is happy. Sometimes, however, people will spontaneously act out, contrary to appearances. Meaning, some people will act like everything is okay in order to try and move on for their own sake, until it all spills over for the worse. If a person is rude, then there is always a reason behind that attitude.

In the hopes of brighter futures for our fellow classmates, ourselves, and classes to come, we must first realize that we have all been through the same high school experience, the same teen bully lectures, and are all hoping for success.

Before you discredit this article as just another lecture about how bullies hurt people, realize that I have been in that situation of being laughed at, having shyness, and well, embarrassing moments. I am sure many people have fallen down the A wing stairs their freshman year, had to make a dreaded speech, or has been targeted for no reason by another person. Why not make it easier on yourself and your classmates: Always watch your actions and words in order to avoid hurting people.