Life- the greatest bully

News from CNN speaks of an eleven-year old boy who allegedly committed suicide in his own home. The cause of the suicide says media is repeated bullying in school. Despite the healthy relationship the boy has with his family, the pressure of school bullying must’ve been too much for him to handle and lead him to such an act.

Just like in the US, Philippine schools also have cases of bullying though not as rampant as the latter’s. Generally speaking, bullies in are characterized by their domineering personality, their ability to point a trip at you and to get everyone to laugh at you. Usually, these people lack attention from people who are supposed to supply them with it (i.e. Parents, family). Besides environmental factors such as a family problems and conflicts, the psychological nature of these people should be taken into account .So it’s generally a psychological thing (see article in same blog), and it needs to be dealt with immediately by trained professionals.

I can say that as a former bully victim, it’s not easy knowing that somehow, somewhere, sometime, these people would pounce on you, push you around and pinpoint the ultimate trip against you. Those conventional bullies who use brute force to get what they want, money, assistance to test questions, and all sorts of gratifications are a tough thing to go against in my Elementary and High School days. There are also those unconventional bullies whose use of sharp words and piercing insults prove to be an irritant everyday. I found out that whenever I went silent; they’d prey on me more and make me feel like I’m even more of a loser. However, time came that I had enough and I fought against this sort of stereotypic mess I was accustomed to. In order to fend off the conventional bullies, I studied martial arts, particularly Taekwondo and a bit of Jiujutsu from my dad (who beat me up most of the time anyway, so there). My days as a varsity Taekwondoin proved to be a successful deterrence to their physical torture of my person. Of course, this did not stop their verbal trips against me, so I busied myself in my childhood passion—paleontology. I also studied basic biology and environmental science, which helped me get my mind off their destructive prose and careless slurs. However, something in me was not satisfied, I thirsted for vengeance so badly, for retribution. So in college, I joined the Taekwondo varsity team and eventually, the greatest circle of friends I’ve ever made, the Lyceum Debate Society. All the while I thought I could get back at these bullies by telling them who I became and what I was able to accomplish, suddenly, all that want and thirst for retribution disappeared. I was where I want to be. I felt safe. I guess that’s what I wanted all along.

Now, however, I face the toughest bully I’ve ever seen—Life. Life can be so deceitful sometimes; it can be gracious and unforgiving, generous and unfair. Although I agree that life can be good sometimes, most of the time, you can die out there. I proved that in my search for a job just a few days ago. I saw people working their asses off for a living, staying in long lines in order to apply for a job and get rejected in the end. I was disheartened knowing that somehow, somewhere, I may be rejected. How can I go against such a formidable opponent?

Then, in an epiphany in the form of a corny flashback featuring my Taekwondo falls and glory moments, debate disasters and strokes of genius, Manny Pacquiao and Rocky fights, Spartan courage and shields, Naruto hormonal outbursts and instrumentals that raise your fighting spirit, I realized that I’m being taught to stand up against it all—to never give up.

Also, I learned this lesson, if life bullies you, go to your Dad. He’ll tell you what to do, or at least, somehow, if you make the right choices, everything will be okay.