The Courage of Children: Boston and Beyond XXXI

Naz Akyol
Sedef Seker, Teacher
ide Okullari, Istanbul, Turkey
Courage to me is being honest, standing up for yourself, and thinking
positively. For example, if you are excellent at something, a lot of people will
be jealous of you. The most important things are supporting yourself, being
self-confident, and asking for help and support when it’s difficult to face
your problem. Please don’t be afraid to seek help from an adult. I learned if
bullying is a glass of water, courage is rain.
When I was in sixth grade, we had our lessons online because of coronavirus.
In my class, there were some girls who were bullies. They wanted to bully
everyone because they were bored in online lessons. I think it was an awful
idea because hurting someone mentally is a form of bullying. My best friend
posted a video on her social media page. After that, the bully girls sent a video
from their social media account about my best friend’s hairstyle. My friend felt
awful, and we told these girls that what they did was unacceptable, and they
should delete the video. However, they didn’t delete this video.
“I learned if bullying
is a glass of water,
courage is rain.”
When I started seventh grade, these bullies wanted to hurt me again, but
in seventh grade I never gave them a chance to hurt me. I asked for help
right away and consulted with my guidance teacher and principals. Now they
can’t hurt me. I showed courage in this story; if I was afraid to explain what
happened to my teachers in sixth grade, they would bully me more, and they
could continue to hurt me.
One day, when I was going shopping with my mother, these bully girls sent a
message to my own phone number. They asked me if I said something awful
about them or if I gossiped about them. I replied “No” in a polite way. They
asked me weird questions, and they were impolite; they even shouted at me in
one voice message. I showed these messages to my mom, and she told me not
to respond and block them. After that, I blocked these girls.
One day in a Language Skills lesson, I said one word wrong. After the lesson,
these bully girls sent a post in their social media account about me, and
they wrote, “Naz please don’t speak English and don’t join English lessons.”
When I saw this message, I felt awful because I am not a native speaker, and
my mother tongue is Turkish. I tried to learn a second language, but they
made fun of my English. I wrote a message to my English teacher. I thought
she could help me. She wrote to me that making a mistake was not a bad
thing, and everyone could make mistakes. She told me that I can talk with my
guidance teacher. I had an online meeting with my guidance teacher, and told
her how I felt, and she said that she would talk to the bullies.
The Courage of Children: Boston and Beyond
Volume XXXI
112 113