To often in the news we hear of teen suicide and school shootings. These tragedies are often the result of children suffering from the daily torment of their peers. Bullying is a fact of life for youth across the globe and is having detrimental effects on health. Whether as a recipient,
participant or bystander, we have all, at one point or another experiences some form of bullying.
With the known lifelong effects, why as a society are we not pushing to eliminate these behaviours and support the victims.
To This Day is a poem written by Shane Koyczan as he expresses the torment that he experiences as a child and the stories of those around him, and to further explore the lasting impact childhood bullying can have on an individual.
“Schools and families are in desperate need of proper tools to confront this problem. We can give them a starting point, a message that will have a far reaching and long lasting effect in confronting bullying.” (Koyczan, 2013)
His message is a plea to kids everywhere that they are not alone. He, like so many others, grew up believing that he was never worth it, that he would never fall in love and that he’d be forever lonely. He talks of a child he grew up with, who after years of constant torment and depression, attempted suicide while in grade 10. To this day, he still struggles with his self worth.
Global health promotion intends to influence individuals, giving them the tools and the knowledge to optimize their health. An individuals self worth, the way they feel about themselves and their mental health has drastic impacts on their daily lives. Past solutions have told have suggested that words, unlike physical violence do not have a lasting impact on children and that such torment should be ignored. We know this solution is ineffective. With his work, Shane hopes to offer a starting point to parents and school and especially a message to children that they are not alone.
We need to work on eliminating this situation to give each individual the opportunity to live their lives free from torment and to feel that they too, are important.
Koyczan, S. (2013). To this Day. http://tothisdayproject.com/listen
Video can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltun92DfnPY
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