During middle school, kids called me “four eyes”. Nearing the end of middle school, my vision began to deteriorate and I had to wear glasses. I was self conscious and it was worse when kids picked on me. It felt awful and I wouldn’t want anyone to have to go through the same thing. But fortunately, I can say that I haven’t been bullied in high school. Although it’s not easy to see, my school stops and prevents bullying.

Last semester, there was a mountain of drama involving the app Yik Yak. The app is like Twitter except users are anonymous. Shortly after it came out, students used it to anonymously bully. To stop the bullying, my school blocked the  app. In addition, school staff sent an email to parents to tell them what happened and what they did about it.

I felt joyful knowing parents now knew about this and that they could prevent their kids from bullying. The students soon after realized they were hurting people and stopped using Yik Yak. I was ecstatic to know students had stopped using the app and was glad that everyone had begun to make up.

Since Yik Yak, my school has been doing more to prevent bullying and to keep the students’ self esteem up. The week after the Yik Yak problem was no H8 Week. The teachers saw how the app affected people and knew they had to find a way to show us how we’re all the united.

It began on Monday when sticky notes with positive messages were placed on all the lockers. No H8 week continued when we wore different colors each day to represent our respect or care for something. This really brought the students together and showed us how to trust and never judge one another.  Most of all it reminded me that there are nice people who will do anything to help. Now even “four eyes” can feel positive and look at high school as a place to have fun and make friends.