"Your words are weapons of the terrified." These powerful words come from a song that I will be referring to throughout this entire article. This article is the topic of bullying but specifically verbal assault. I am writing this article to raise awareness about it. My reason for writing this is a situation that happened and is still happening to my best friend. "Somebody screams in the middle of the night. The neighbors hear but they turn out the lights. A fragile soul caught in the hands of fate. When morning comes it will be too late." That phrase talks, in a metaphorical way, about abuse and societies idea of keeping your nose out of other people's business. That song is about a girl who is being abused and when she ends up being beaten to death no one cares or even notices.

I won't go into detail about the situation but the main point that was made is that my best friend is "ugly" and "fat." Those words came from someone she used to love. Those words were specifically said to target her insecurities and break her spirit. The person who would say stuff like that is not one that i want to be around or even be associated with in any way. People like that are the reason that christians are viewed as hypocrites and liars. If you do stuff like that then you do not believe in the God I do. How can you sleep at night knowing what you said has killed someone's self esteem. Enough ranting, I am here to talk about the effects of verbal abuse and assault.

We may not like to admit it but words hurt worse than physical wounds. Cuts heal but a broken soul does not. It is like crumpling up a paper, no matter what you do, the paper will never be the same as before you crumpled it. Words were the reason i attempted suicide twice. Words are the reason i have bulimia. Words can also heal though. Anything from a simple "Hello," to "You look great today," could change someone's life. Words are a two-edged sword. We as humans need to change our vocabulary to exclude hate and include genuine love for our fellow humans. One compliment to someone you don't know could stop them from ending their life or getting an abortion or other negative acts that are based in the feeling of self doubt and the need to be accepted by society.

I, personally, try my best to support and encourage my friends every day to the best of my ability, because even if I do know what they are going through i don't know exactly how it makes them feel or think about themselves. One little thing that you think won't matter could cause major change in your life and friend group. When you compliment others more you tend to see more of the good stuff about yourself. You cannot base your view of yourself on what others think and say about you. Once you believe those lies there is no going back. "All i want is something beautiful to say." That line says that even when we are being broken down by others we can still choose to follow our dreams and see the good things in every day. See you next week when i talk about my marriage.