I still remember the first time I saw Back to the Future. I must have been eight years old; I was at my uncle's house, who left me his computer along with a case of discs full of DVDs. Among them all, Back to the Future was new to me; I hadn't seen it and decided to give it a try. That's how I discovered what would become my favorite movie of all time, as there were two things that captivated me above all else: first, the ability to travel in time in a car, and second, seeing how George McFly, after a lifetime of suffering bullying, finally defeats his aggressor. It seemed that Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis (screenwriters of the film) had written that character for me, because, like him, I also suffered bullying, I wanted to be a writer, I was shy, and I shared a long list of similarities with my younger self. Today, finally, many of those dreams have come true: I managed to defeat my aggressor and I am a writer; in other words, I became who I wanted to be. However, many boys and girls have not yet achieved that change.
Today is the day against bullying, a problem that, sadly, is still present in our classrooms. This day, unfortunately, has become an example of the bipolarity or, why not say it, of the hypocrisy of some schools, where days are held in which they talk about bullying, how to avoid it, how students can go to the administration to talk about their situation and seek mediation. They even sing the famous song by El Langui, "Se buscan valientes" (Brave People Wanted). However, sadly, this does not work. The one who is an aggressor usually continues to be so, and the one who is bullied will continue to be so, unless they rebel or, in the worst case, decide to end their life. Even worse, many times, whoever reports the bullying to the administration is insulted or beaten even harder.
That is why today I have decided to take the ink out of the inkwell and gather the courage to express my complaint about this issue, which on numerous occasions does not receive the attention it deserves. Students often do not collaborate in its eradication, and too often educational centers turn their backs on this situation. Unfortunately, I have experienced both realities firsthand, and it is painful to see how, on a day like today, millions of activities are organized to raise awareness, only for everything to remain the same the next day: another insult is articulated on the lips of some classmate, or a teacher tells me not to invent what happens to me every recess, although my pants and knees were the most faithful witnesses of my suffering. So I ask that educational centers try to fight and raise awareness to eradicate this sad event that affects so many students, that it does not remain only in the vague memory that then escapes from popular knowledge. And to all the boys, girls, and teenagers who suffer this sad situation, Cheer up! and as a gift I leave you the following poem, from my new project Lost Voices:
Forgiveness
Everything that happened in that courtyard,
is left behind,
I couldn't control it,
and neither could you.
But that's not bad,
it made us who we are,
and that's our best achievement.
