My Competition Speech

[bunnygirl]

 So I got into this speaking competition, I’m into the semi-finals. It’s called The Rostrum Voice Of Youth Speaking Compeition or something. But anyway, my English teacher got me into it, and I got into the semi finals.  We have to pick a title from 6 different options, and then just write, in any way we interpret it. I picked the title ‘When in…’ And finished it as ‘When in a victims diary.’ I’ve wrote about the diary of a bully victim!  It’s a topic that means a lot to me, and I believe that we should be doing something about it!

If you guys have some spare time, could you give it a read and give me feedback? 

Thank you! 

– Bunnygirl

When in a victims diary…

 

Dear Diary, 

My name is Mary, I’m 14 years old, and I’m in year 9 at school. I have green eyes and simple brown hair. I know what you’re thinking. There’s nothing special…or different about me?I can’t see there is any difference between me and the other kids in my class either, but they certainly can. And they don’t really hesitate to let me know. Every day. I used to just ignore what they said; I thought it would go away, of course they’d stop and find another victim once they got bored with me. That’s what everyone says, right? Wrong. It’s been going on for months now, and it’s getting worse with every passing hour, day, week. And…it really hurts you know? When they act like I’m not even there, talking about me like I’m an it, not a person. ‘So what did you said to it this morning?’ ‘Oh I just told her what I thought of her, and that she’s a freak and a nerd and everyone hates her. She should just leave this school, she clearly doesn’t fit it.’ 

Maybe I don’t…

 

Dear Diary, 

It’s been a few weeks since my last entry. I haven’t really been able to cope with writing down my feelings, the days are long and laborious and often tear filled. If I thought things were bad before though, this is hell now. There have been several people add me on Facebook, names I don’t recognise. I accepted the first one, and instantly got a steady stream of hateful messages. One after another, the next one worse than the last. Fat, ugly, stuck up, cow, kill yourself, hang yourself, we’ll throw a party. It goes on. I know, I shouldn’t have accepted requests from people I don’t know. But I just got curious. I had to know what every new, sick message was gonna say about me. So I accepted the next person, and the next, till I had a whole inbox filled to overflowing with hate. I can’t stop myself now. I don’t know what to do…when will this end?!

 

Dear diary, 

I got home from the torture centre today – aka, school. People don’t just send hate anonymously from made up accounts anymore. They don’t even hesitate to say what they think to my face, during classes…even in front of our teachers. But the teachers just tell them to ‘pipe down.’ They don’t understand how much it hurts. How much those seemingly small words can affect others. How much pressure and anger and tension and frustration it all results in, come the end of the day. But anyway…I got home from school, with this feeling, I needed to release that pressure. So…I went to grab my razor from the bathroom…and…I did it. I cut myself. And it didn’t release the pressure. It just made me feel sick, disgusting. I’m just so confused…what’s happening…how do i make it stop?! I just wish this would all end…

 

Dear diary,

This will be my last entry. I can’t take it any longer. This hell hole, this constant, searing pain in my chest, writhing in my stomach, black in my mind. It’s too much to bear. I feel so useless, so worthless, nobody would miss me.  So i guess this is goodbye. NOBODY EVEN CARES! I SWEAR THOSE HATEFUL PEOPLE AT SCHOOL COULDN’T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT ANYONE AND I HOPE THEY ALL ROT IN HELL!!! 

 

The above diary entries, were actually fiction, but I gathered the inspiration from real victims of bullying. It happens every day, and most of the time we don’t even see it. We don’t see the people who are being broken, till the last second, till they end it all. Nobody should ever have to feel that way. And we need to remember, that we have no idea what’s going on behind the closed doors of somebody’s life. And that name you just muttered, that message you just sent, could probably be the last straw. The final words, to just tip them over the edge, to end a life. Now, the point of this speech, was not to make everybody sad or angry or upset, it was to prove, that we need to think before we speak. Now…that phrase is tossed around a lot, it’s pretty much lost its meaning. But for a victim of bullying, everyday is a constant war of survival. If you haven’t got the team mates, you’re dead before the battle has even begun. Because you’ll be targeted, your weakness pinpointed, and when you’ve nobody to hold you up when you’re shot down…well, you’ll be just that. Shot down. Your thoughts, your mood, your overall look on life plummets. Till…well, you can’t take it anymore. 

 

And then suddenly everybody is like ‘Oh but they we so beautiful…’ ‘God only takes the best…’ Hm. Shame you couldn’t have said that earlier. Because earlier, that shattered soul that isn’t here anymore, was reaching out. Reaching silently toward anyone, anyone who could provide just a few words of encouragement. Just enough for that damaged, despairing, defeated victim to climb back onto the ladder of life. But that’s the thing. They reach out silently, no words passing their lips, no emotion portrayed on their face. The most they’ll do is write it all down. In a diary. A private book, for nobody else’s eyes but their own. Then, when they’re seemingly so suddenly gone, this book is retrieved. And everybody realises, that bullying has stolen another life. 

 

We need to put an end to this. We need to stop knocking people down, crushing them between words, actions. That silly rhyme ‘Sticks and stones..’ is wrong. Words do hurt. They crack hearts, emotions, souls. They do damage beyond repair. So next time you see that victim, helpless and alone, whilst the names or physical hurting happen, do something to help. Tell an adult, stick up for them, give them the lifeline number (13-11-14), anything!! Just do something to stop bullying, from taking another life. 

[BonnieSue]

Bunnygirl –

Students like you are leading the charge to end bullying in school and that is a beautiful thing! I am an English teacher, and I can tell you that your English teacher must be VERY proud of you. I also fight against bullying everyday as an at-risk alternative education teacher.

Your entries are very compelling and give an accurate portrayal of the mental decline of a bullying victim. You have one sentence in the second entry that is a little awkward grammatically. It currently says, “There have been several people add me on Facebook, names I don’t recognise.” I think it would smooth out a bit if the entry said “There have been several people who added me on Facebook, names I don’t recognise.” (Here in the States, we spell is “recognize” but I have a feeling from some of your syntax that perhaps you live in Europe or Australia where that spelling would be accurate). Overall, that was the only thing I picked up on and I thought you did a beautiful job on this! Good luck with the rest of the competition and let us know how it works out. However, simply making it to the semi-finals sounds like a huge honor.

[bunnygirl]

BonnieSue –

Thank you very much for taking the time and patience to read this through thoroughly! That alone means a lot! I have corrected the sentence, I can see why it was incorrect before, thank you for pointing that out! Yes, I used to live in England, and we have since moved out to Australia, actually about a year and 4 months ago, so you’re correct on both accounts with the spelling! I’ll keep you posted on how it goes, I have to deliver this speech, plus a ‘short notice’ one on Saturday the 18th of May.

(Short notice speeches are where they give you a totally new topic, and you have …maybe…15 minutes to prepare a 3 minute speech. Quite scary to think about!!)

[LBJ10]

I don’t think it matters where you live, bullying is everywhere. This was a great topic, it sounds like you really care. It is important to young people to start taking a stand because they are the ones who can bring about change. Teachers and parents and whoever else can only do so much by cracking down. When I was in high school, actually even long before that, it would have made the world to me if one of my peers would have stood up for me. I bet your teacher is very proud of you bunnygirl. =)

[BonnieSue]

I have several international friendships, so I often pick up on these little differences. I know an Australian horse trainer who likes to say “years of age” instead “years old” (i.e. the horse is one year of age instead of one year old). I think it sounds so much more fancy!!

I am sure you will do great at your competition!

[bunnygirl]

Thank you for reading LBJ! I hope that my speech when delivered to my classmates (for ‘experience’ and ‘practice’ as my English teacher puts it!) inspires them to stick up for others!

BonnieSue, I know what you mean, everybody says different things. I’m actually into horses myself! Can’t get enough of the Lagomorph and Equine friends!

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