Sticks And Stones May Break My Bones, And Words Can Often Hurt Me
I know all of you have heard of this phrase at least once in your life: choose your words wisely.
So, why?
This is America and we have freedom of speech, lets use it!
Well, not necessarily so.
Words have more power than we can even imagine. Words are paint on a canvas; they depict breathtaking pictures of a monotonous life and they beautify the simplest of tasks. They dance across our mind and illuminate long forgotten emotions we thought we couldn’t feel again. They mingle in our head, attempting to catch our attention.
Words grace us with awe-inspiring images of carnage and revelry. They relive every moment you ever felt, recreating all the sights and smells that bring you back to that time you were completely in bliss. However, the most important thing about them is that they tell stories. They recount the tragedies and epics of the world and teach us lessons that we could never comprehend on our own.
They’ve always been powerful and it shouldn’t be realized now. So many people have used them to stir innermost instincts like fear or love. Hitler barked commands to rally his aggravated people. Gandhi calmly suggested advice to maintain the glass-like peace in his country. Words built empires and tore them down in a blink of an eye. Words themselves have no pity for their actions, but we do. What we say can hurt anyone. I know this one for a fact. Although you tell yourself that words don’t hurt, they do.
I’m sorry if you’ve been bullied; it shouldn’t be experienced by anyone, but it happens when weak, insecure people need the adrenaline rush. I’m sorry that they make fun of you for being you. I’m sorry that you’re anxious every moment of the day. I’m sorry it seems endless.
When you wake up in the morning and get that twinge of pain you get every morning, the dread of going to school and facing a bully that has no mercy. Everything they say echoes constantly in your ear, no matter where you are. Dragging your feet, you enter the school prepared for the endless array of wounding words. You spot your bullies across the hall; their gaze makes you feel distressed. Your eyes dart around for a quick escape, but there is no one willing to help or hide you.
Although they won’t physically harm you, they taunt, even maim you with their words. They know how to get the school riled up against you and they threaten anyone who truly cares enough to lend a helping hand. Even when you are at home, you don’t feel like you are at home. Your safety is always balancing on a tightrope, and at any moment you could fall. You get messages from Facebook and Tweets that don’t say your name, but you know they are meant for you; you are a bulls-eye that everyone is aiming at. You are an earthworm ravaged from your home after some rain. You are no one.
Then again, words don’t just go one way.
You have the power to fight with your own statements, even if it means swallowing your fear and pretending you have the confidence to scream louder and more dramatic than any wild beast. The thing is though, you can’t just throw around random words hoping that your adversary will understand; you have to emphasize them and add your soul to forge the perfect meaning. You have to build them to be the giant that reaches the sky.
Words are your army, if they are used precisely as you need them to be, they can accomplish whatever your heart desires. Despite the endless desperation, confronting your bully (in a polite and direct matter, of course and don’t bring them down, it’ll make you no better) will help relieve the stress of the world on you shoulders. And with your newfound confidence, you feel invincible.
Every bully is different; this is why it is difficult to stop them. It’s getting harder and harder to monitor the words others are saying. But I hope that you are filled with Courage, Confidence, and Conviction. I hope the words flow smoothly like a stream because you deserve it and you deserve the happiness of being free. Your words will build mountains and can save you from being caged. Don’t let your bully’s words bring you down, let your own words build you up.