Timothy McGee
May, 21st, 1993
Ms. Shaw
English IV

I've been thinking a lot about what I want to do with my life. This, I suppose, is normal considering I'm a high school student who is going off to college in the fall. Even though I've known for months now that I would be going to MIT and studying Computer Science, I wasn't quite sure what I ultimately wanted to do with my life until recently. You might think my answer is computer programming or tech support for some company, but you'd be wrong. What I want to do is go into law enforcement. I haven't quite decided what area of law enforcement I want to pursue, but I know that I want to spend my life putting bad people in jail and getting justice for their victims.

High school for me has been a Darwinian survival of the fittest. While I respect the work of Darwin, I think there is more to being the fittest than being physically strong. Strength can come in many different forms. It can be intellectual strength, emotional strength, or even spiritual strength. And there's another strength, one that comes from within, pushing us to do what is right, even if what's right is what's most difficult. It is this strength that I find most important; it is this strength that everyone possesses, but must work to find. Ultimately, I think—at least, I hope—this strength is the one that will dictate survival of the fittest.

I think it is the responsibility of those in power to protect the weak. This, however, was not what I happened during my time in high school. I spent each day in fear, worried that I would run into one of my many bullies and be tormented for no reason other than not being like them. Punches, wedgies, cruel pranks, taunting, and even name-calling were normal occurrences in my life and they all hurt me physically, mentally, and emotionally. Too afraid and doubtful of my abilities to fight back, I became a silent victim of the bullying, taking it day after day with no complaint. This made me become hard and cynical, and kept me from achieving my true potential and having a better high school experience. If I had fought back earlier in my high school career, would I have been happier? If the school disciplinarians had properly done their job and stepped in when they saw bullying, would my life have been easier? If we had all worked harder to put an end to the bullying that occurred in these school halls, would we have prevented other students from being hurt, from being pushed to the edge of their very sanity? I don't know the answer to these questions, but I regret that I didn't try sooner to change the way our school was run.

The idea of standing up to my tormentors had never even entered my mind until I met the closest friend I had in high school. In fact, she was my first and only friend in high school. She was different from everyone here; she was optimistic and peppy, wanting nothing more than to have respect and hospitality from her peers. Even that simple hope was denied. She was friendly and kind, but it was not reciprocated by her peers. Instead, she was beaten down until she was a cynical and sad teenager just like me. She called me her protector, a role I don't believe I truly filled; I wish I had. It wasn't until her untimely death that I was pushed to my potential and found the strength inside of me to fight back against a corrupt system that allowed bullying to exist. When I fought back I felt in my element, like this was what I was meant to do.

As much as I like to believe that bullying ends in high school and that everyone grows up and matures, I know as well as anyone that it isn't true. Bullies don't change, they just become older bullies and find new victims and new ways to torment them. We have bullies in our world who think they can do whatever they want. They lie, cheat, steal, and kill to get what they want with no regard for how they're hurting others. If I enter law enforcement, I can fight these new bullies the way I never could my high school bullies (at least not until it was too late). I can show that I'm not some weak little geek and that I do have the strength to stand up for myself and for others. More importantly, I can help make sure that others don't go through the things I went through.

While I still plan to study Computer Science at MIT, I've decided that after I get my Bachelor's degree, I'm going to get my Masters in something better suited for investigation. I know MIT has a Graduate program in Computer Forensics, so I may give that a try. Eventually I want to go to FLETC (Federal Law Enforcement Training Center) and learn to become a law enforcement agent. I've got the mental skills for the job, but I, admittedly, could work on the physical skills necessary. I know it will be the most challenging part of my road to law enforcement, but I won't give up no matter how hard it gets. I won't be happy until I know that I can chase down dirt bags and get retribution for victims.

I may have been a geek for the four years I spent in high school and I may be a geek until the day I die, but I will never again be afraid to stand up for what I believe in. I will never watch silently as people do wrong, as they hurt other people. I am ready to stand up against them and protect those who can't protect themselves. People need to know that bullying—in high school and in life—is wrong and detrimental to our society. Looking the other way isn't going to stop it; standing up to it will. I only hope that this time I'm able to save them all, though I know it is an unrealistic goal to set for myself.


AN: And thus ends the story! Thank you to everyone who read and to everyone who reviewed! You guys are great!