"When I was in middle school, I was bullied, and en..."
Notre Dame
As a Catholic university, we strive to be a community in which the dignity of each person is respected and everyone can truly flourish. Notre Dame’s president, Rev. John Jenkins, C.S.C., challenged our community to reflect on the following statement: “Let us never do anything to make another member of our community feel unwelcome, and let us not stand by if we see others doing so. Either we walk together in mutual support, or we do not walk at all. Either we are all Notre Dame, or none of us are." Tell us about a time when you walked with others.
0 - 200 words
(Notre Dame)
When I was in middle school, I was bullied, and ended up falling into a deep depression. No one ever tried to stick up for me or befriend me. I’d like to think if someone had, maybe middle school would have been different for me. In high school, I decided I wouldn’t let anyone make me feel worthless again. But just because I wasn’t getting bullied didn’t mean there weren’t hundreds of kids in my school who were feeling victimized. I think the meaning of “to walk with others” is to protect, to nurture, and to share all the great things in the world that go beyond school.
Since Freshman year, I’ve tried to sit with a different person in the lunchroom every day. We talk and share things that make us happy, be it stories or food! As a Senior, it might seem intimidating for me to sit down with a group of Freshman, but I always have a smile on my face, and always offer a warm hug or some advice. I try to touch every soul to let them know that someone is listening, since you never know what people are quietly going through.