Sitting at the lunch table, I listen to my friends talk about how they need to diet because they’re so fat. I look at them and think why would you do that? Neither one of you need to lose weight! And then it hit me. I recalled from the previous day that a boy had called one of them fat, and the other had been talking about her neighbor telling her to lose a few pounds. I realized that they’ve both been bullied, just like many other students across our supposedly equal and fair nation. The citizens of the United States pride themselves on being just to all human beings. But is that the truth?

According to a recent study by the NICHD, thirty percent of students in the United States from grades six through ten are involved in moderate to frequent bullying. If Americans are fair to everyone, then how is it that this many students are picked on for being different? I believe that no person should have to endure this horrible form of torture. Victims are afraid to come to school, and they don’t escape it when they get home. Although the advancement in technology is wonderful, victims of bullying never have an escape. Whether they’re reading their texts, their newsfeed on Facebook, or tweets on Twitter, there is no way out of the grip of the bullies. Eventually, the victims will just snap. They may decide that they have had enough of this ridiculousness and lash out at their tormentors. If this is the case, then the victims are the ones who are punished for their actions, while the true cause of the trouble skates by under the radar. I believe that every person, no matter their size, shape, or color of their skin, is extraordinary in their own way. The people who hurt others are no exception. Those are the people who just don’t know how to see the beauty in others. It is like a piece of abstract art. Many don’t understand its point, but those who do know how incredible it truly is. In short, I believe that every human being has a right to feel safe, loved, and appreciated.

So as I sit here looking back and forth between two of the nicest, most incredible people I have ever known, I wonder why anyone would ever say something so terrible to them. When I look at them, all I see are all the great things that they have done for me and for others. Perhaps all bullies see are flaws that aren’t there, or just feel the need to put them down. People say that bullies are people who lack self-confidence, so when they see someone who is happy to be who they are, they push him or her down to make themselves feel better. When I look at the friends I have who have been bullied, I know that this must be the case. As my friends finish speaking, I tell them, “Neither one of you needs to lose weight. Nobody can tell you what size you need to be, what you need to say, or who you need to be. You are perfect exactly the way you are.” This rings true for each and every one of us, and you can never let anyone, friend or foe, tell you otherwise.