Human Variations

Human Variations: The Building Blocks of Society You cannot change, no matter how hard you try. You have exclusive traits that help diversify our world. The unique creation that you are is something to be cherished. Your attributes should not be depreciated because you do not meet a specific checklist of socially acceptable terms. These are the things I learned about myself after being bullied. In eighth grade, I was a part of the “popular” crowd. In eighth grade, my friends, appearance and possessions meant the world to me. In eighth grade, a major part of my world was torn apart, when I was bullied by the same people I had been calling my best friends for the past four years. Erika and Meghan were the first people I met when I moved to Point Pleasant in fourth grade. We all hung out together immediately on the first day of school. We made cookies at my house and then made prank phone calls for the rest of the night; we clicked instantly. I felt so welcomed by these people, how wonderful it was to have already made friends in my new town. I assumed that they were going to be my best friends forever. How is it possible that such an innocent friendship could turn into something so emotionally harmful? The answer is life. More specifically, Jimi Hendrix best describes the answer, “When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.” The girls who threw food at me at our lunch table did not know that peace. They did not know that peace when they told people not to hang out with me because I was a slut (although I had only kissed a boy on the lips once). I am sure that there was more than just one rumor that ignited this flame of wrath. Yet, it is not the reasoning, or the events, or the betrayal within this period of time that matter. What matters is the fact that it happened. People can be cast out or discriminated against in the blink of an eye if someone powerful enough were to decide that it was the “right” thing to do.