Voices in my Head

Story adopted from the short story: Diary of a Madman

              

Bullying is a touchy subject now a day.  On the news all you hear about is how a child was being bullied so bad that they have took their own life.  Bullying is not an issue that we should be taking lightly but it is something we should be trying to put a stop to.  Kids should not have to go through out their school day or any day being picked on and harassed by others.  It is just not fair to them; they do not deserve it, just because they may be a little heavier than some or different in other ways.  It's good to be unique and your own person but now day’s kids just don’t believe that.  If you are not a jock or one of the popular individuals in your class than your life may be hell.  Why others think it is okay to bully others we will never know.

                Joe and David are best friends in high school they are both freshman.  As you can imagine they are very nervous for their first year in the high school.  What will happen to them? Will they be liked and fit in or will they be the kids that everyone picks on?  These types of questions are what ran through their heads constantly.  On the first day of school Joe and David discovered that they had many classes together, except for the most important one and that would be lunch.  Joe was very concerned about this he had no clue where he was going to sit but David just figured he would make new friends without a problem and it wouldn't be that big of a deal.  David’s thoughts were right he fit right in with all the football players he even took up football and became a starter for the varsity team.  But what was going to happen to David and Joe’s relationship?

                Joe felt out of the loop and left alone, he felt everyone was constantly talking about him.  When he thought he could go to his best friend since elementary school and talk to him he discovered he had lost a friend.  Joe wondered many time in his head if there was a purpose for him here.  He questioned his living every day.   He had no clue how he was going to find another friend that could compare to David.  The first couple weeks were rough, Joe had no friends and he had no one to sit with.  He felt like he was all alone and would be forever.  Until one day when these three boys went up to him and asked if they could sit with him.  Joe replied "yes!' he finally was going to have friends and be able to feel good about himself.  He thought everything was going to turn around and that he finally wouldn’t be lonely anymore.  Joe has never been bullied before so he wasn’t sure what it felt like.  What he did not know was that these three boys were not his friends, but they were just messing with him and teasing him to make themselves feel better.  Although they did not let him realize this until a few months have went by, and Joe started to feel down about himself.  He did not talk to anyone and he was not even communicating with his own family.  Joe missed out on a lot of family events and hid in his room a lot.  His parents were very concerned with him and did not know what was bothering him.  They never talked anymore but they just figured he was stressed out from school and had a ton of homework all the time and he just wasn't use to it.

                The real truth was that Joe was being bullied not only by the football players but by his best friend, or what he thought was his best friend. The football players have changed David and he was starting to bully others.  It seemed that David had almost forgotten he was even friends with Joe at one time because sooner than later he started teasing him along with the others.  They would hit him, call him names, and even knock his books out of his hands while they were walking down the hallway.  What did Joe do to deserve this from one of his good friends?  Joe was not a jock, he did not participate in any other school activities, and he kept to himself most of the time.  Joe figured if he just stayed quiet and almost just blend in with others than he wouldn’t be talked about.  Every time he turned the corner or walked into class and heard whispering he immediately thought it was about him.  Even if it wasn’t he put it in his head that it was.  Voices in his head told him that he would never be liked and that he was the talk of the school. 

                 What Joe really needed was a friend to be there for him but there was no one.  Sure he had acquaintances but they were not friends he could trust.  He would not trust anyone ever again after what David did to him.  He just figured everyone was like that and that everyone was out to make his life miserable.  When other fellow students would say "hi" or "what's up" Joe ignored them, he just thought they were there to tease him and bully him around.  Joe was starting to feel worse and worse about himself; he did not know how he was going to go on every day with no friends and feeling like this.  But who could he talk to? His parents but then he would feel like a baby and they would just think he is over reacting.  Everyone was against Joe and no one wanted him around he believed.  He had voices in his head each day telling him he did not belong on this world and then others saying he did.  Joe didn't know what to believe.  He did not have any friends so what was the point.  One day Joe did not show up to school and the day after that.  He was absent from school for a month straight.  Students were starting to wonder what had happen to him; even David was realizing how bad he treated him and wondered if he was okay.  When David tried to call him, Joe’s parents said he could not come to the phone and that he was busy.   Joe left a note on his desk in his bedroom explaining to his parents why he was going to take his own life.  He explained that he had no friends and he just couldn’t take the voices in his head anymore.  No one wanted him here and he had no purpose to be here anymore.  He was being bullied and picked on every day in his life.  The last line stated “I love you both, and will miss you terribly, but know I will be happier after I do this.” When his mother read this she was in tears, how could her son believe there was no one here for him?  His parents loved him and gave him everything but that was just not enough.  What David and the others did not know was that Joe had tried to take his life by over dosing on pain pills, but he did not succeed.  Thank god that his father had walked in on him and took him straight to the hospital to get care for his son.  After they had Joe stable they then brought in a therapist to talk to him.  The truth came out; Joe did not have any friends lost his best friend David.  He was being bullied and had no one to turn to or talk to.  His parents took him out of that school and put him in a private school, where Joe seemed much happier and made new friends.  Joe never talked to David again and went on with his life, he ended up going off to college and becoming a successful business man. The voices in his head finally ended.  David on the other hand will always have the thought in his head about what happen to Joe.  David felt really guilty about what he had done and knew it was wrong all along.  He just wanted to fit in, but what he almost did was kill his own friend or what used to be his friend.

                   Bullying is not a joke.  After reading this diary about Joe I hope that everyone realizes how much we impact each other’s life.  Society is changing each and every day and bullying issues are even becoming a problem in colleges.  Make and change and put a stop to it.  If you see someone being bullied stick up for them and be a friend to them.  Sometimes they just need that one person to say "hey I'm here for you."