The news has been loaded with cases of suicide. We watch the news and hear about all these tragic deaths that are happening and we think, “Wow, this is terrible news,” “I can't believe this is happening,” and the schools are talking about how terrible it is to lose one of the students. Then they get to talking about bullying.

The students all talk about how we shouldn’t bully others; but the ones who do bully, are also the ones who say we shouldn’t bully. This letter is for you.

Yes, bullying has been going on for years and some people just "get over it." Not everyone does get over it, though. Did you know, according to the Bullying Statistics, that bullying is the third leading cause of death among young teens? That is unbelievable.

We are all taught at a young age of the golden rule — treat others the way you want to be treated — but no one really takes that seriously.

To the ones who do cause harm to others, whether it is verbal or physical, it makes them feel superior. It makes you feel better about yourself. Putting others down makes some people feel like they will get their way through life if they keep it up, that people will respect them.

It all seems like fun and games until someone takes their life. In all honesty, how many deaths is it going to take before we actually take a stand against bullying?

Many of the victims that do get bullied either don’t talk about it because they believe that it’ll make the situation worse, and for the ones who do say anything, some feel like the school doesn’t do anything about it. It gets treated like a slap on the wrist; that doesn’t help the one getting bullied in any way. That makes them feel hopeless.

Most students also don’t do anything that is effective. They tell others not to take it so harshly and to get over it, while others resort to physical violence. This isn’t something that should be happening.

I've just never understood why when someone takes their life due to bullying, it becomes a thing where everyone posts about bullying and how bad it is, yet they do not act upon that statement.

There is a good chunk of people who do try and help, or they just didn’t know that someone was hurting, but for the ones who do bully, belittle others, or are just generally mean, why are they acting hypocritically?

Bullying is something that is so serious and it is becoming so frequent in today's society, which isn’t a good thing.

We really need to take action as soon as possible and really do something. Don’t be the bystander. If you see something going on with someone, try and make their day, report it, just do something! The worst thing you can do is just watch it happen and not do or say anything.

Show compassion, show kindness, show love. Please, please, please, take action!