(opinion article)

There were actually a lot of times when I’ve experienced some sort of problems while communicating with someone: as a tween (this is how people call pre-teen kids nowadays.). I constantly had misunderstandings with my peers, as a teen – with peers AND my parents and so on. So I don’t think I can single out one of the instances when I have felt like no one gets me.

However, one notable story took place in the 6th grade, when I was a kind of bullied in school because of my bad eyesight, skin problems and a “nerdy personality,” A group of my classmates gathered around to force me to say I was wrong, when I expressed my opinion about a music band I didn’t like. This situation caused me to cry a lot and doubt the sincerity of my friendships, since none of my friends expressed a desire to help me.

These kinds of communication problems and inability to understand and acknowledge someone and their beliefs and desires happen all over the place, and it’s our job as journalists to convey to the public the idea of respectful communication, so we can perform the role of highly effective models for younger generations. As the Americans say, “If you talk the talk you better walk the walk.”