Avichal Jadeja
TRIGGER WARNING: Suicide, Bullying, Physical Abuse
I usually love to lighten up the mood. Cracking a joke or two, but unfortunately what I’m about to say isn’t funny. What am I going to talk about though? I’m going to talk about what I went through and how it shaped me, but the most important thing is what it taught me.
To start off with, middle school was not a good time for me. I was hit and yelled at simply for submitting a project on time. I was on the football team and every time we lost a game - the blame was put solely on my shoulders.
It didn’t matter what I did, no matter how hard I tried I was always picked on and it was absolute hell for me. To put it simply, I was bullied. The only important thing that stopped me from doing anything I’d regret was the fact that I had one friend who I talked to. No matter what it was about, she would always listen, and I would like to thank her for that right now :)
I still follow some of those guys and I would love to quote Eminem and say “You don’t know what the f*ck I’ve been through,” but I simply see no point in talking to them.
So, what did I learn in middle school besides how to draw a circumcircle? Always have a friend(s) who you can talk to when you need somebody.
Boy did it come in handy later down the road.
Fast Forward to March 21st, 2019 as I’m running down late for my French exam completely ignoring the blood in the lobby. Only when I was pulled out later in the middle of the exam did I realize what had happened. One of my closest friends in my apartment had committed suicide.
I didn’t know what to say or what to do for the next few weeks… My brain was in complete shock and my mental health was as low as it could possibly be. Again, I took support and drew strength from my friends around me. Confiding in them and taking comfort in the fact that they were there with me managed to get through this, regretting less then I would without them.
If there’s anything I’ve learned while going through what I’ve gone through - it’s to always have somebody and always be there for those same people. Don’t take bullying lightly and stick up for everyone. Don’t ignore somebody whose mental health sucks just because you couldn’t be bothered to check up and make sure they’re okay.
Take help when you need it and give help if somebody else needs it.