Bullying: Check yourself.

Amanda Todd/ Facebook

The subject of bullying has come into the spotlight this week, in light of the recent suicide death of Amanda Todd, a 15-year-old BC girl who took her own life last week after facing years of torment at the hands of her peers and an online predator.

Todd, who shared her story through a YouTube video a month before her death, has become another senseless victim of bullying. She was tormented, teased, assaulted and stalked by people who felt the need to judge her for an indiscretion, perhaps a series of indiscretions she made in her short life. From what it sounds like, this young girl was hunted down and had repeatedly ganged up on.

And for what purpose?

Because this is the kind of society we live in? I dunno.

I do know that bullying is more rampant than people would like to admit, and people of all ages are doing it. Take website ‘The Dirty’ for instance; people can anonymously post pictures and stories about anybody (ANYBODY) they don’t like, or are mad at, for the rest of the world to see. These stories don’t even have to be true, and I’m sure many of them are aren’t, or if there is some validity to them, it's likely that only aspects of truth sprinkled into them.

This girl’s a whore. This guy is a liar and a cheat. This girl is fat. This guy has an STI. This girl stole my boyfriend... Who the fuck cares!

Even if you’re angry, or somebody has done you wrong, there is NO justifiable reason to EVER post about somebody on a website like that. None. Doing this makes you a bully of the worst kind: An ignorant coward who can’t even stand behind your terrible words and antics.

It’s a safe place for you to hide while you throw people like Amanda Todd to the wolves.

(Yeah, for some reason there are still people out there who give things that are posted on The Dirty merit. Clearly ignorance comes in all forms.)

If you try to defend posting on that site, you are part of the problem. Hell, even looking at that site makes you a part of this problem.  At the end of the day The Dirty is an online bully forum where nobody is immune. It’s a coward’s device where people hide behind anonymity to bully and berate others.

Think about that as we all chastise the kids who helped push Amanda Todd into an early grave. We all have a responsibility for our actions, whether we can hide behind anonymity or not.

I’m not going to go into a big rant about karma, because frankly that’s futile. But, I think the way we live or lives and the way we regard and treat other people is a clear indication of how our lives are going to be. -- Hence, if you are one of those people who are eager to pounce on somebody for decisions or indiscretions they’ve made, or simply because you or others dislike them, your life needs some kind of substance.

If you are going to take a stand against bullying, do it. People like Amanda Todd need that. Look at your own actions and behaviours and decide what side you’re on. -- You don’t have to like or respect everyone, but take strides to make sure you’re not being a bully. If you can’t be kind, try to be classy.

Bullying is a learned behaviour and we are all susceptible to being on either side of it.

Dating Disasters: NEVER give your number to the guy who yells "C'mere" to you at two o'clock in the morning. EVER.

So I met this guy last week; I was walking to my car from my friend Apryl's apartment one night and this guy yelled out to me to come over and talk to him. I said no, that my shoes were too big and if he wanted to talk to me he could come talk to me. He did. 

He wanted to party, but it was 2 a.m. and I just wanted to go home and go to bed. He was cute, but super young, when he asked for my number I gave it to him. 

"What the hell," I figured. "I'm single."

Well fella has been texting me all week. Nothing too exciting, but daily texts with terrible grammar. We made plans to hang out this Friday. (It's not like I'm looking for anything serious, I can deal with bad grammar on a temporary basis.)

Anyway, I just got this series of texts from him. Do you think I should go out with him?! ;)

So, um does anyone want to hang out this Friday?! It looks like I don't have plans anymore...

Food for Thought: Happy Thanksgiving

It’s Thanksgiving. Hallelujah.

I have a lot to be thankful for; right now is possibly one of the best periods of my life, yet I often fail to realize that. Probably because I have it so good, all the time; I have an incredible family, a bounty of friends; some who have become like family, I am confident in most aspects of myself, and I have a job that I love. I’m lucky.

It wasn’t always like this, but I’ve always had things to be thankful for.

At the risk of sounding really cheesy (which I will likely do, and for that I am sorry.) Thanksgiving is a really good day to think about life; where you’ve been and where you are. It’s a perfect time consider life as a journey that you don’t always have a map to. Hell, I’ll admit that my life right now wasn’t my intention. I thought it would be different, yet somehow I lost my way and ended up here, and it’s exactly where I should be and where I want to be. 

Life is mysterious and good.

Every day we should be thankful for what we have in our lives, but that’s not always easy. Life throws curve balls, and even our most treasured moments can become general or even ugly. It’s all relative. The hard times are the times to remember that difficult situations usually give birth to a renewed life and a better sense of self. It’s a fundamental cycle of life: flowers grow in mud, caterpillars turn into butterflies, rainbows come after a rain storm. If it’s bad, it won’t always be. You can always make a happy ending.

Self realization and growth thrive in difficulty. It’s the one thing that can really instill changes in us.

I guess if we didn’t have to endure hardships it would be a lot easier to forego being thankful for the things that make life great. There is a reason for everything.

I am truly thankful for the people I have in my life. They’ve laughed with me, cried with me; they’ve listened to my endless thoughts on whatever subject I’m fixated on at the time, and they’ve accepted me for my “shelleyisms.” I know it’s not easy guys, I can be a handful, or downright annoying. Thank you.

I’m thankful for the opportunities I’ve been given and the ones that I’ve worked hard to create for myself. The realization that anything is possible is a godsend, even if you don’t fully believe in it at the time. There have been times in my life where I’ve felt trapped and the light at the end of the tunnel was seemingly nonexistent. But, you’ll never find the light if you don’t keep going forward, right?

Our time on this planet is short. We owe it to ourselves to accept the things we cannot change, and believe in a better tomorrow. I know that’s cheesy, but there are truth in those words, I can attest to that.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.