A Story About Bravery From My Life
My old school was in its third month of existence when I met a new girl. She was home-schooled and didn’t understand how things worked. No one was willing or able to teach her things that were new. The “new girl” was a stigma that no one wants to associate with. She wasn’t able to grasp the concepts because her teacher didn’t give her any information. Everyone laughed at her mistakes and did the wrong thing. Sammie, the person supposed to show Anne around, claimed she told Anne everything she needed to. Over the next month, many people surrounded Anne every day after lunch. Although they thought they were talking about her, they were actually mocking her and laughing at her mistakes. This happened daily. We felt terrible for our friends, but we did not do anything. We believed that if they made Anne feel worse, they’d probably do the same to Anne. Anne was not helped by my friends.
Morgan, a girl that didn’t speak to us, began to spend some time with us after Anne was teased. She probably felt awful and didn’t want anyone to get involved. Morgan, my friends, and I discussed stopping the bullying, but never did. We felt sorry for Anne and wanted to stop it. But we didn’t. As the school year progressed the bullies became bolder and started actually harming Anne. They wouldn’t give names to anyone who told teachers that it was too extreme. Anne was also threatened. They threatened Anne, telling her that she would be hurt more if her teacher hurt her. At first, it was just teasing and occasional pinching. Now it’s shoving or hitting. But we didn’t know what to do. We never saw Anne cry, even though she would run away from those who were hurting her and wipe her eyes. It was as if Anne didn’t want the bullies to see her weep. The struggle continued. It was almost normal to go outside after lunch and see people crowding around Anne at the fence. It was something we didn’t like, but we couldn’t stop it. The bullies were bolder because no one wanted to tell teachers.
Anne attempted to tell her teacher about what was going on a few days before spring break. A few people grabbed her and told her to have a chat with them. They started calling her names and pinching her for telling a teacher. Morgan, my friend, and I found a teacher. However, by that time, all the others had left. Anne suffered from some bleeding on her arms. However, she explained to the teacher that she fell into a Holly Bush. For a few more days, Anne’s bullies continued to harass her. After three days, however, they stopped. Anne went inside every day with a few scratches on both her arms. To cover the scratches, Anne brought a blanket. The bullies could not blame her for telling a teacher.
Anne finally broke down a week after school had ended. Anne started to cry amongst the crowd. They all laughed at her. Morgan was unable to accept it. Morgan did the same thing that we wanted but were too afraid to do. She ran into the crowd and demanded that they stop this behavior and get away. She was insane, I thought at the time. It meant that Anne would be bullied. Morgan told Anne about Anne’s bullying, and the teachers then pulled out the bullies leaders and made sure that Anne couldn’t go outside the rest of the school year. It wasn’t much. But, when I reflect back, it is clear that Morgan was brave and did what was right under pressure. It wouldn’t be possible for me, and I wouldn’t do the right thing as Morgan. I would not have believed what I heard. I collapsed under pressure and couldn’t do what was right.
