how would you like it?

This past month was National Bullying Prevention month. To start out, I'll give you some facts. Every day, an estimated 160,000 children miss school due to fear of being attacked or intimidated by other students. 56% of students have witnessed some time of bullying at school. 282,000 students are physically attacked in high schools each month. Bullying can take many forms and can be physical, verbal, or indirect. Physical bullying would be physically harming a person by hitting, kicking, ect. Damage to or taking someone's belongings can also fit into this category. Verbal bullying would be name calling, insulting, or using sexually suggestive or abusive language. Indirect bullying would be spreading rumors about someone, or excluding them. Cyber bullying, "any type of bullying that is carried out by electronic medium,"  is technically a part of indirect bullying. The worst part about bullying is that even though you think what you're saying is just a joke, the person you're saying it to might take it harder than that. A lot of the time, bullying leads to people making drastic decisions, like suicide. Bully victims are 2 to 9 times more likely to consider suicide than non-victims. One victim that fell into this category was Phoebe Prince. She was a fifteen-year-old girl who moved to Massachusetts from Ireland. She fit in at first, but it wasn't long after when she became the target of bullying. Things were thrown at her, she was threatened and many would call her "Irish Slut." On January 14, 2010, Phoebe decided she had enough and hung herself in her closet. Making a person go this far is a crazy idea. It's unlikely that a person is going to quit teasing others, but when you tease a person, think of how it might affect them. Think of how you would like it. Think twice.

make good choices, leave good lives

for more information:
http://www.makebeatsnotbeatdowns.org/facts_new.html

Red Ribbon Week

This week, throughout the country, schools are pulling out the red. At Drummond High School, students can be seen sporting red ribbons pinned to their shirts, tied to their cars and painted on posters, hung throughout the halls. It is a week to join together and fight the use of drugs. Now nationally recognized, Red Ribbon Week was started to pay tribute to  Special Agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena and his fight to end the illegal use of drugs. Camarena was a special agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. He was working undercover in Mexico, investigating a major drug cartel that was believed to include officers from Mexico's police, army, and government. On February 7, 1985, Camarena disappeared, his body was found a month later. To commemorate his sacrifice, Enrique Camarena's friend, Henry Lozano, along with Congressman Duncan Hunter launched clubs throughout California to help people lead drug-free lives. Their symbol became red badges and ribbons, hence the name, Red Ribbon week. This symbol was adopted by numerous other organizations throughout the country, SADD being one of them. In honor of this week, I feel it is right to share some facts with you.

- In 2003, almost 28,723 people in the U.S. died of drug-induced causes.

- Drug poisoning is now the fastest-rising cause os accidental death.

- 61% of high school students say that their high school has drug problems. 

Now to me, these numbers are a bit high. If you think so too, you can help. You can start your own SADD chapter, plan your own Red Ribbon Week, or just promote the choice of not using drugs. Whatever you choose, remember Camarena and his sacrifice. Remember what he did in his attempt to end drug use. If you would like to help the cause, visit nfp.org, or sadd.org. Until next time,

make good choices, lead good lives




for more statistics: (http://www.getsmartaboutdrugs.com/prevent/did_you_know.html) 

Welcome!

Hi! My name is Mychaela Moore and welcome to my blog, think.twice! I am writing for Seventeen Magazine as a representative for SADD, that is Student's Against Destructive Decisions. My entries will be focused on general topics, such as domestic violence, drug abuse, and bullying, to name a few. I chose to write for Seventeen magazine, because they focus on a variety of topics that deal with teen life and rather than shut you down, the magazine tries to encourage you to make a more informed choice. I find that teens, like myself, need to understand the choices they are making and the consequences their choices have. This is what Seventeen attempts to do, and what I will also attempt to do. While writing, I am going to try and use a centered voice, that is, I will try not to yell and say "BAD! BAD! BAD!" Instead, I am going to try to be encouraging and say: "This is what happens when you do this. See? It's tends to be a bad thing." I am going to encourage you to "think twice" before you leap. I hope that you will find this blog informative and I hope that it will help you to make good decisions in life! If you would like to visit Seventeen Magazine's website, just use this link: http://www.seventeen.com/

make good choices, lead good lives :)