First Draft to Final Draft: Persuasive Essay Process
In America, certain social and basic needs aren’t being met. This is through various different topics, and my topic, Bullying, they aren’t being met. Our basic needs are: water, food and shelter, and those that experience bullying, might not get enough food/water. They are being deprived of their basic needs through bullying because they are being made a target and then they are being put in the spotlight, where they feel compelled to stop eating or they might not feel comfortable with it. They are targeted and then are judged, which prompts their eating habits. This is dangerous, and can cause students/kids to change and become affected, which then goes on to affect them in the future when they are adults. “Kids who had been victims only (who never bullied others) had greater risk for depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, generalized anxiety, panic disorder and agoraphobia as adults.” (Walton). This goes to show that bullying is definitely something serious that can then affect students in the future. This is where we introduce social needs: Autonomy, Fairness, Status, Certainty, Relatedness. These are really important for a human being to have because humans need interaction to be able to live/function properly. Without fairness or status, humans become compromised and start to become affected by the lack of a social need. “The students who are doing poorly are at higher risk for getting bullied, and any student who gets bullied may become a low-achiever.” (Wolpert, 3). We talk about changing the environment and community where bullying is happening, but we don’t realize that these topics are serious. These can affect a student and how they perform in school.
As a student, I’ve always felt that being able to advocate for a topic that you are passionate about is important, so being able to work on this project really expanded my views on social teen advocacy and how hard it actually is to show others that students can indeed advocate for important topics as well. During the process of creating my essay, zine and background collage, I realized that most people don’t really take teenager’s seriously, especially when they try and talk about something they are passionate about. We are seen as children, not taken seriously, and sometimes even dismissed because of our age or the knowledge we possess. That’s exactly why, during this project, I tried my best to create an essay that would, hopefully, change people’s perspectives on teen advocacy.
Not only that, but through this project, I realized how much my topic was pushed aside by the public and our community. Bullying is something that most people don’t take seriously, especially when it might have lasting consequences. Looking at statistics and various different facts, all associated around bullying and the academic environment, I found really interesting facts that I didn’t know before this project. One of these things was that, “Kids who had been victims only (who never bullied others) had greater risk for depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, generalized anxiety, panic disorder and agoraphobia as adults.” (Walton). Coming from a school that doesn’t tolerate bullying, I realized just how much other kids might suffer from these things everyday. I used to be bullied when I was younger (way before I came to High Tech), and that used to affect me. I didn’t feel like I belonged in the community I was in, and I used to be afraid of my peers and those that bullied me. But after coming to a community like High Tech, I realized just how much I was actually cared for and how good it felt to be a part of a community that really cares for their students and their well-being.
As a student, I’ve always felt that being able to advocate for a topic that you are passionate about is important, so being able to work on this project really expanded my views on social teen advocacy and how hard it actually is to show others that students can indeed advocate for important topics as well. During the process of creating my essay, zine and background collage, I realized that most people don’t really take teenager’s seriously, especially when they try and talk about something they are passionate about. We are seen as children, not taken seriously, and sometimes even dismissed because of our age or the knowledge we possess. That’s exactly why, during this project, I tried my best to create an essay that would, hopefully, change people’s perspectives on teen advocacy.
Not only that, but through this project, I realized how much my topic was pushed aside by the public and our community. Bullying is something that most people don’t take seriously, especially when it might have lasting consequences. Looking at statistics and various different facts, all associated around bullying and the academic environment, I found really interesting facts that I didn’t know before this project. One of these things was that, “Kids who had been victims only (who never bullied others) had greater risk for depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, generalized anxiety, panic disorder and agoraphobia as adults.” (Walton). Coming from a school that doesn’t tolerate bullying, I realized just how much other kids might suffer from these things everyday. I used to be bullied when I was younger (way before I came to High Tech), and that used to affect me. I didn’t feel like I belonged in the community I was in, and I used to be afraid of my peers and those that bullied me. But after coming to a community like High Tech, I realized just how much I was actually cared for and how good it felt to be a part of a community that really cares for their students and their well-being.
