Dear Students,

I want to tell you a story.

It was going to be just another regular day for you; go to school, learn new things, go home, repeat. That wasn’t how your day went. You go to your regular morning classes. The day is the same old same old until you get to your mid-day class. You’re minding your own business, listening to the teacher talking about your country (China), when suddenly, a student asks you a question: “Do you eat dogs and cats, just like everyone else in your country?” You ignore them while they keep making rude comments. Eventually you go up to the teacher at the end of class because you are done with all the negative things the kids were saying. You try to act like it didn’t affect you while explaining to the teacher, but tears just roll down your face. It turns out it wasn’t the first time this has happened to you. The teacher tells you that he would talk to them, so you leave it at that, but it continued more times after that and by the same people.

You may wonder why I am walking you through this story.

Here’s why.

Many students are getting bullied because of their race and where they come from. The story I just walked you through was not just letters on a page. It was real, and it happened to my friend. She was being bullied because of her race and where she used to live. That situation affected my friend in so many ways. Nobody should ever feel discouraged over what color their skin tone is or where they live(d).

People should be able to feel good about who they are and where they come from and not have to worry about getting judged because of it. High school is such a big environment for things like bullying, judgment, and it happens more than you think. Even if a person is “joking” about something, it still has an affect someone. According to USA Today, lives have been lost because of a few unkind “simple words” that people say. All of us can change the negativity that we see by asking themselves the question: “Is what I’m about to say worth causing this person enough pain that will hurt them, or even end their life?” Most of us students don’t realize what one little sentence can do to someone, whether it’s good or bad. Positivity is something that all of us should be spreading, even if it’s a few nice words. It can change someone’s life for the better.