Many of you have experiences with being bullied or bullying someone. Bullying was taken to a new level last week at Shoemaker Elementary School in Denver Colorado, when Jamel Myles (age 9) took his own life in his home. Jamel came out to his mother as gay just weeks before starting fourth grade. His mother said, “The same kids who picked on him last year were even meaner to him once he came out.”

His death has been an eye opener for people nationwide, making kids, parents, and schools take a closer look at how their actions can affect others. This devastating event brought up many questions at Fruita Monument. Caleb Hicks, the head of the school’s Student Council does think bullying is an issue at FMHS, “but not your traditional bullying. Social media has made it much easier for kids Now they can sit at home behind a screen and say whatever they want to whomever they want. Bullying is the type of thing that has the potential to stay with the victims a lot longer than the bullier, and the impacts of it can really affect them.”

Sadly this, was the case with Jamel His experiences with bullying stayed with him until it was  too much and the effect was devastating. Please let Jamel’s story be an eye opener for you, and help you realize that your words have consequences.