cady conley

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Dear Student Who Knows Everything

People say bullying comes in the form of harsh words
And shoving
It comes in the form of put downs
And labeling
People say they know what bullying is
That it doesn't happen that often because they don't see or hear the things
That they say is bullying
They don't see it
They don't hear it
Funny, that...
Isn't it? !
Because bullying is the isolation
The ignorance of who I am
The decision that I'm not worth anything
Not even a glance
Bullying is the expression of disgust when you see me in the hallway
Bullying is the glare when I hold my best friends' hands
Bullying is the no apology when you run into me in the halls and act like you walked through slightly thicker air
Bullying is the refusal to acknowledge my existence
Rather than pretending to 'not allow it'
Bullying is the rope
That you bind around my arms and legs
And rein in when it's convenient for you
And kick what's on the other end away
When you feel the need
Bullying is the lack of words
Bullying is the lack of action
Bullying is just that, dear student who knows everything
Bullying is what you don't see, or hear
When you walked the halls in your 7th grade year
I bet you 'saw' some kid being bullied
I bet you have some hero story of helping a kid who had a slushie thrown in their face
This ain't Glee!
You saw the superficial bullying
You saw the attention seekers and their poor victims
You did not see the ones who sat on the stairs with their earbuds in and ate lunch
You did not see the one with their nose in a book in the back of the class
You did not see the one who tried to talk to others
And was ignored
Because bullying is what you don't see or hear
And, dear student who knows everything, you witty person, you
I bet you 'knew this', right?
I bet my ignored words and bruises on my shoulders from your backpack's collisions and my 5 or 6 total close friends that you would look me in the eyes
For the first time
And say 'Oh, I knew that'
Of course you did
How could I forget that you feel so ostracized all the time
How could I forget that you were discriminated against for your lack of muscles
And lack of ab selfies
I bet you felt so ignored for your lack of 'popularity'
I'm sorry, dear student who knows everything
I bet you eat alone every single day at lunch
I bet you know what it's like to be isolated for who you are
But, dear student who knows everything
Do you know what it's like to be ignored for no reason
Do you know what it's like to not exist?

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