#student:sohee

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Just a Friendly Reminder

Dear Sohee,

Hello. Do not be surprised, but this is you writing from the future. I would first like to congratulate you for successfully graduating from grade school with exemplary grades. I believe that you will not encounter many problems in terms of grades as long as you do your best all the time. High school will surely enable you to find out more about yourself and to find your true friends. However, in this process, you might experience unfavorable situations such as getting bullied. I am writing this letter to you so that I can give you some advice on how to avoid getting bullied. You have to be amicable, brave, and confident at all times in order to deal with bullying.

First, I would like to tell you that preventing a problem is better than solving it. What I mean is that it is much better to avoid getting bullied than to recover from the pain you can receive. You will not be physically hurt because Woodrose students do not use violence, but you will be internally hurt because they surely gossip a lot. There is only one way to prevent yourself from becoming the topic of their gossip: always be kind and friendly. Bullies often have a reason for gossiping about you. They would not hurt you or isolate you for no particular reason, so do not give them a reason. You can do this by treating others with sincerity and always putting their needs before yours. Making every single person in your school your friend will give them no chance to gossip about you.

Second, in case you are left behind, or people talk behind your back, do not be afraid to ask help from adults. You are not alone. You have your family and your mentor. Approach your parents and talk to them about the problem, and they will surely have the right solutions. Also, mentors are there for a reason, so get help from them. Never be afraid that these people will turn you away when you talk to them about your problems. If you do not report bullying, the bullies will only become more and more aggressive. Adults can often find ways to help solve the situation, so trust them. Even if they are not able to change and solve the dilemma completely, expressing what you are going through will make a huge difference to the way you feel.

Lastly, you have to be confident in the face of bullies. People might spread bad rumors about you. Always remember that it is not your fault unless you really did something bad to deserve their hatred. You are worth much more than what they say, so just coolly ignore them. Standing up for yourself can also be an effective solution. Bullies want to think that they have control over you, so show them that they have no rights over you by telling them that you do not care about what they say about you. You should never be ashamed of yourself just because of the false rumors they spread about you. They are surely wrong.

These are the three main pieces of advice I can give you in dealing with bullying. If you just remember to be friendly, fearless, and confident, then you will not have major problems in high school. However, do not worry that high school is all about avoiding bullying just because I gave you these warnings. These pieces of advice will just guide you into having the best years of your life in high school, not only by protecting yourself against bullying, but also by being able to find your true friends.