I have a date

 with CNN for the next five nights.

Tonight begins the week-long focus on school bullying.

Last week, there was the college boy who committed suicide after his

sexual encounter with a man was streamed live online.

Earlier today there was this.

Both stories nearly broke my heart.

Ty Smalley was only eleven when he took his life.

His father said it right when he said,

"you want to know what bullying and suicide is all about,

you talk to the people and the family who it effects the most."

Because I have my own story of being bullied,

stories like these

make me so angry.

It bewilders me that children are so harsh, and the events are so continuous

and without intervention, that in some cases,

it leads to death.

For those who don't choose death,

many chose silence,

and the silence can be extremely detrimental, too.

In my experience, my silence built the foundation for major emotional distress.  

Because talking with my bullies directly about the hurt they were causing me felt out of the question,

and because I silently agreed to "forget about it" as soon as they went on to high school and the regular degradation they had caused ended, I never learned to deal with the emotions that it caused--effectively.

Instead it left broken emotions at my feet.

Sadness. Anger. At times Rage. Staggering relationships. Depression.

When bullies target,

it causes an immense amount of stress, loss of confidence and sense of safety.

Unfortunately, these things last far past the actual bullying itself.

years. decades.

It did for me.

You can

Stand for the Silent

on their Facebook page.

Watch CNN.

It's important.

Times here.