Paul's visit

Facing Choices I like Paul’s presentation because it was clear and it made me understand more about the choices and difficult moments that might face me in high school. I didn’t know how bullying could affect a person’s life so strongly. That maybe one little comment could make a person believe what other mean things people say to the victim. That that one little comment could lower the student’s grades, make him or her skip school, and even think of suicide. I learned that there are five different types of bullying: physical, psychological, cyber, sexual, and verbal. Girls sometimes exclude each other. There are two ways (that I have learned so far) to help people who suffer from bullying. The first is to just listen to them. Don’t talk, just listen. Show sympathy. Be there for that person. Give them a hug. Secondly, stand up for that person. Help the person report the bullying. Make them feel that they’re not alone. Paul also talked about why people use drugs and alcohol. He drew a scale to show how people who get dependent on drugs need more and more just to feel ‘normal’. They feel high for awhile, then very down. They need more and more just to get through the day. Imagine that. After that, it gets out of hand and you can’t even feel normal any more. It made me realize how dangerous drugs can be. If I ever get asked to take drugs, I’ll remember that scale. Paul used humour to keep our attention. But sometimes his face looked sad. I think it’s because he cares about the students he works with. Paul told us that he used to hang out with 17 friends. 10 died. 4 went to prison and only 3 went to university. Think of that. 14/17 didn’t have a good road in life. That’s way too much. It’s really sad how kids just throw their lives away like that. Mr. Paul told us that about 3 kids a day suicide because of bullying and drugs. I liked it when he said that, for him, one suicide was too much. I agree. Finally, Paul told us about a drug called GHB that can make you forget what happened to you so someone can make you do things you don’t want to do. Remember: never leave your drink on a table. Never accept an open drink from a stranger. Always stand up for yourself. Malorie Dion, 6B