Billy the Bully can be found roaming the hallways of every school. He's mean, rude, and inconsiderate to others. In reality he is the one who is insecure about himself, so he finds the need to pick on people he believes are lower. All types of people are in danger from being bullied by him. Teens should learn how to recognize the signs of bullying, because we can stop the harmful effects of it, and we should know where and to whom it can happen, so they can prevent it from continuing.

One way to prevent bullying is to watch for the signs of it. A bully is known as anyone who continually uses physical and verbal abuse to inflict fear to harm (Than). If a child has a fear to go to school, is anxious, or nauseous he is probably being bullied. No child should be afraid to go to school; it should be a place of safety. Withdrawal from family, friends, and activities that the person always enjoyed is a sign that is shared by both the bully and the bullied. If someone has a lack of sympathy when a person is being hurt or teased, or they lie often, that person may be developing into a bully. If you observe that someone has signs of feeling worthless, this to may mean that that person is being bullied or is bullying. Learning to recognize the signs of bullies and the bullied can help us try to prevent it, and just remember,and just remember, the longer the bullying continues the worse it will become (Than).

The effects of bullying can be serious and harmful, in certain cases even deadly. Being bullied at school can lead to students being absent more often (Than). The bullying makes them feel sick, and they would rather stay home than face the bully again. In drastic cases the students take their own life so that they would not have to endure the bullying one more day. There are also times when victims of bullying were so tormented by being bullied, that in their desperation they resorted to violence and in the end became a bully themselves. An investigation of thirty-seven school shootings across America was made by the Secret Service and the Department of Education; it stated that sixty-six percent of student gunmen said they had been bullied. That means two thirds of those school shootings could have been avoided if bullying would have been stopped. Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, the shooters of the 1999 Columbine shootings, left writings of how they had been bullied and why it had led them to their rampage shooting. Just imagine if bullying was prevented we could significantly reduce the number of suicides and school shootings. Think, if your brother or sister was a victim in a school shooting, wouldn't you want to prevent bullying so that same thing never happened to someone else?

Bullying can happen to any type of person and in many areas. Fifty percent of school age children said that they had been bullied during some point in their school careers; ten percent said they are still being bullied (Than). Some characteristics that are a common cause for bullying are race, background, being physically or mentally challenged, being nerdy, the list goes on and on (Than). In reality if someone is viewed as being different by the bully, they are targeted, which in itself is just plain wrong. Everyone is different and we should respect differences in people, not discriminate against them for it. In 2001, nine percent of ninth graders, five percent of tenth graders, four percent of eleventh graders,and two percent of twelve graders reported being bullied at school (Percentage of students age 12-18). Although these surveys take place in school, it doesn't mean that's the only place bullying can happen. Bullying can take place anywhere that students are together. This includes, inside the school, outside on school grounds, buses, and at school functions (Doak). Not all of bullying take place face to face. A new form of bullying is on the rise, cyber bullying. Online sites such as Facebook, and calls and texts are all places where cyber bullying can take place. I have even seen acts of bullying on my own personal Facebook.. People are cussing like sailors on there, and their saying things they would probably never say in person.

Billy the Bully will continue to walk among us, unless we put an end to him. Lives could be saved, and our learning atmosphere could be improved if we dealt with bullying. Yes, wiping it out all together may be impossible, but every little step we take to prevent it helps. Billy the Bully does not have to continue harassing and intimidating us. Knowing the signs of bullying, the effects of it, and to whom and where it can happen, is a step if we want to stop the problem of bullying.