Thousands of books and movies have been written about the topic of bullying. Most of them present the audience with a protagonist who is being victimized by an oppressor. The oppressor is usually in the form of a high school jock or a beauty queen who yells out slurs and even physically harms others just for the fun of it. As children who watch these movies and read these books at a young age, it creates a false definition of what bullying is in their minds. Being bullied doesn’t always mean being shoved against a locker or publicly humiliated by the most popular person in school. Bullying can come from anyone, even a close friend. 

The word bullying is another way of saying social dominance: when one person decides to control and put down other people to make themselves feel superior. This can be done in numerous ways, but the most common form in today’s world is gossip. In this situation, the bully sparks a rumor and spreads it around. This puts their victim in a vulnerable position and makes them feel threatened. Next, the bully will attempt to draw people away from the victim and even force them to choose a side. Ultimately, the victim is left alone wondering what they did to get in that position, and this causes them to try and seek forgiveness from the bully. As a result, the bully has now been able to control the victim and feel superior. This creates a cycle that would not be broken until the victim stands up for himself and knocks the bully of his/her high horse. 

Sadly, the cycle does not get broken as often as it should because the victim is not aware of their situation in the first place. This is often the case when two people are in a toxic friendship, one friend tries to overpower the other and manipulate to such an extent where it is not detectable. They will say things such as “I can do it better” or “you sound ridiculous” and make the victim think that they are trying to help but, but instead, they are putting them down rather than encouraging their success. It is vital to recognize these red flags and be able to steer away from those people. 

Most importantly, being able to hold your head up high and carry oneself with confidence is the ultimate game-changer. If a person can stay alone in a room for an entire day and still have the time of their lives, they are practically invincible since they do not need anyone else to follow around like a lost puppy. These people do not give the bullies any grasp over their lives because they are perfectly happy and confident with who they are. It is by far one of man’s most significant challenges to love oneself because truth be told, no one is perfect. But loving yourself does not mean “perfect,” it means accepting your flaws and embracing your vulnerabilities. Once that is done, armor has been created, which blocks off all the negative comments or petty drama in life and makes way for growth.