Despite recent attention — and even jail sentences — being handed out for teen bullying, it remains an all-too-common problem. School administrators and parents are often frustrated in trying to curb this behavior. It’s insidious, underground, and few teens want to talk about it openly — out of fear and stigma.
The fear is very real, because adults can’t watch kids and teens every moment of every day. The possibility of repercussions — such as even worse bullying — for reporting bullying behavior reinforce the fear and cycle of bullying.
That’s why it’s so refreshing and gives us hope to have come across this video the other day by 16-year-old Canadian Megan Landry. Join over 105,000 others (as of this writing) who’ve already watched and give a view below.
Luckily, Megan is reaching out to share the video with sites like ours:
Hi, I’m 16, I wrote this because I was bullied. I did the video myself too. I hope my song will give other kids the power “to look right over their heads.”
[…] I know it’s making a difference because of all the comments.
Just incredible. We think it’s making a difference too, and are honored to share it with our readers here.
Homegrown projects like this — that are so moving and sharp — gives us hope that we can turn the tables on bullying. We imagine it will give other teens hope as well.
We had a brief email exchange with Megan, a single child, to learn more about the video, and I asked her what inspired her and her friends to create this video.
I was bullied in grade 8 and grade 9 by a group of mean girls. It was a tough time because if anyone was nice to me, the bullies would be mean to them, so I was alone a lot.
I’m now in grade 11 and it’s over. You never though totally trust again. I wrote the song and asked a good friend Caroline to bring a couple of her friends so they could be in my video. If you Google “Megan Landry” Stronger you will see how much people have shared it.
This means the most to me because I hope other kids will be able to be strong and grow from it and not let it hurt them. I want to write music that will make a difference.
Sometimes those with innate musical talent, as I believe Megan has, underestimate their own abilities. When asked if she had an agent or any professional interest, she replied, “No, I don’t think I’m that good yet.”
“I’ve been playing piano since I was four, self-taught up to age nine then I got lessons. I wrote my first song when I was eleven. ”
I believe Megan has shown in this video alone that she has a lot of potential and is a rising teen star to watch.
Subscribe to Megan’s YouTube channel.
