HOORRAAAAYYY! SO I'm super amped because the Anti-bully blog is now 1 year old! PRETTY amped about this. SO as promised I'm doing a little bit of a reflection and "behind the scenes look" at the Anti-Bully blog where it started and what has happened with it over the last year. I've always been ANTI-Bully, I've shared my own stories FAR too many times. The blog started when I saw a listener of mine cyber bullying. I won't share her name, but that's EXACTLY what she was doing. Her statuses were going on about beating the crap out of some one who apparently did her wrong. They were constant and became more and more violent. I would comment on them opposing the situation, and to be completely honest, me rolling my eyes and thinking just how sad this made them look as a person. So I did an Anti-bully rant, and actually sent it to them directly...and I did a couple of these and sent it to her. I suppose looking back I was kind of giving the bully a taste of her own medicine...I wasn't threatening her or anything, I was just pointing out how...well...for lack of a better term pathetic it was that she was doing this. Pretty sure I don't have her on FB anymore. I realize in my position I WANT people to like me...but I'm not about to be all buddy buddy with some one who goes COMPLETELY against what I feel is right.
I started to look at my posts and realized, I was a broken record...my story was getting stale. But as I've said several times, I wasn't perfect growing up, but I was often friends with the kids who got picked on. So I started calling in some favors... ok FBing. I knew some had stories that still hurt, or they didn't need people in their life today knowing, so I offered them the choice to remain anonymous. For added protection for them I actually did up a contract that I sent them this is what it looked like:
Thank you for your contribution to my Anti-bully Blog series. At no point should your identity be compromised, and your post should NEVER be exploited for financial or personal gain. IF anything should happen that violates these terms your post will be removed immediately!
For the record no names have ever been revealed and no post has ever been removed. Most of my friends actually laughed at me when I sent this to them.
The start of the following was of course family and friends. I would post EVERY post on the K100 fan page in hopes SOME one was out there reading it. After about the 4th edition I got an e-mail from the head of Bullying Canada. It was a group I wasn't aware of, but learned about them and featured them in a blog. They are a source I still have.
Our then Promotions director was contacted by Kids Help Phone, who were like my Holy Grail in the beginning of this project. I interviewed them about an event they had coming up and got myself ANOTHER contact.
It was about May when people FIRST started approaching me about the Blog, and I realized HEY! People ARE reading it! My dad was a MAJOR follower, so is his best friend (I see likes ALL the time on my posts). But at my Wedding I had people approach me! I had listeners add me on FB and send me their stories. If you're a regular follower I'm SURE if you are a follower you remember the 12th edition? it was a 10 parter, and what shared with my by Catherine Derry. Not sure she realizes how much she changed my approach to the blog at that point.
Another REALLY important person I need to mention in the story of the Anti- bully Blog is Shawn Lynch. Like I said, in the summer, it was on Hiatus...I have to come clean...another reason was the well had run dry. I thought it COULD have possibly been the end of the Anti-Bully Blog...and then Shawn showed up at a station event, and saved it. I'd NEVER met this guy before and he came up and told me HOW MUCH he appreciated the blog. That breathed new life into the blog. There were people out there reading the blog...I knew this now. And when I started it I said...if I help one person with this blog, it's worth it. I'm not even sure that I have to this day, but I knew I had a chance to still. And that's when the blog got a facelift.
Prior to that, I had relied SOLELY on the material I got from others...to be honest, this isn't a topic people are always forth coming with. Well...I've got a journalism background...I know how to editorialize...and that's what I started doing. I'm SO open to people doing pieces and stuff for me...but if there's nothing from some one else...it's still MY blog, and so it's my responsibility! I've yet to run out of material since...though I wish I had've (it would mean bullying was on the fall).
Somewhere in the last year I also had some one reach out from another Anti-bully type blog called Always a Chance . They focus A LOT on how things are being handled in the schools and such because it's done by a couple who used to work in the school system. One thing that has come up on MORE than one occasion with this blog series is how the School system has failed victims of bullying. Well the couple who does that blog know this FIRST hand, and in their time in the school system did what THEY could to try and make it better... For this I couldn't applaud them enough. They did what they could to improve the situation for kids, and that's a big deal, because it's rare.
This is some stuff that has been going on all year but it would SEEM most of the more recent activity has come since 2012 hit! Unfortunately, we've seen a lot more bullying here in our own backyard. As terrible as it is, it's made Bullying a MAJOR topic of conversation! We're FINALLY seeing something done about it in schools this spring...and it's about damn time!
Because of the blog I've had people approaching me asking me questions...If I can help I do, if I can't I tell them who can (much like I did when I worked in retail). Another thing about the blog? Let's bring Shawn back into the story! Shawn started an Anti-bully group on FB, and approached me about being an admin. Flattered, I said yes...and helped name it, Anti Bullies Unite ! That group has become bigger than I ever expected, a GREAT resource and an informative teaching tool. There are a BUNCH of people on there telling their stories and finding support from others who have been through this...this is an AMAZING group, I'm proud to be a part of, and it's just the beginning, it continues to grow.
This Blog series was also nominated for a Salty. It didn't make it to the MAJOR runnings, to be honest I know of 2 noms. I appreciate that I got those 2! And when I got them I was crazy flattered and actually shocked to be honest. Not in it for the glory of all of that. I do this blog with a goal...to help. If I start getting something out of it other than that I'm afraid of it going to my head and my goal changing and it being done for the wrong reasons...I really don't want that. So thanks for the noms, and it's totally cool I wasn't one of the top 5 :).
So I guess in a Nutshell (yup that was nutshell) that's the first year of the Anti-bully Blog. For starters, let me thank EVERYONE who contributed their stories, anonymous or not, it's incredible you did, and thank you for trusting me with it. Everyone who ever read it...you're the reason I can say, mission accomplished. I know it got out there, because you told me, and that's half the battle. I need to thank Nate Williams who if you haven't noticed, created the logo. As a matter of fact, I think there's only ever been ONE edition without the logo because I asked him for one soon after and got it that VERY same day. Thanks to everyone EVER involved in the blog. The goal for the next year? Same as last...help SOME ONE!
No comments:
Post a Comment