Inspiration

If you haven't heard of Shane Koyczan then you need to do some research. Mrs. McGee actually showed us one of his poem recitations in class last quarter and I was so inspired that I wanted to hear it again and read more of his work. So I did. I found out he actually did an entire project to help fight bullying. This was inspiration. After reading this I searched further and found his website. I realized he and I are actually very similar in background. He came from a broken family and used it to his best to help other people. He states in one of his poems that "kids are cruel" is no excuse for bullying. I agree with this more than anything. Being a victim of a bully is no walk in the park and has forever changed me. "To This Day" I can't listen to Rudolph the Red Nosed Raindeer because everytime I do it brings back memories of when I came home crying everyday, because a kid was cruel to me and made a parody of the song to torture me. Another poet I found very inspiring on my quest to research Mr. Koyczan was Jeanann Verlee. She also comes from a hard life but made the most of it. Her work is full of emotion and I think that sharing those emotions to the public is a huge act of courage. That in itself is inspiring. I fully encourage anyone interested to check them out. Also, what has been ruined for you because of bullying? For me a childhood song and for Mr. Koyczan porkchops. But surely we aren't alone.

Shane Koyczan
Jeanann Verlee