The purpose of this text is to attempt to show people that the way you treat or talk to them makes a large impact on their lives. Remember when you are in your teenage years you are at your most vulnerable in a self acceptance level, when people make you feel like nothing for long enough you begin to believe it.

   The importance of self acceptance is a very real one, to be able to accept your self no matter what, is not as easy for some as it is for others. For some self esteem is abundant from an early age, for most however a struggle with depression and self hate follows. As humans our lack of acceptance stems from the definition and alienation of social difference. Those who are different from the minority social group are defined as different rather then the same. In effect this gives the individual the feeling of alienation and self worthlessness. The reason, is because you are taking someone away from the general population, especially when peers are concerned. You would otherwise be deemed acceptable but, you are not, what other reason can a child possibly arrive at, on their own.

   Mostly this kind of social selectivness can be associated with other forms of discrimination; sexism, weight, racism, etc. Unfortunately general harassment, in a whole is one of the worst ways to lower someone's self esteem. The first time someone is harassed or harasses someone will usually be in their childhood, this is because children dont have any respect for the values of right and wrong. For instance, if a child was to harass another child, using a socially selective term, the harasser gains self esteem from the other child while the other child looses it. Of course this is just hypothetical, however anyone who can remember their childhood would know that these forms of passive aggression between younger children are very common. Children dont realize how hurtful these remarks can be for someone, they help to reinforce self conscience attitudes. For a child these remarks are only a game or taken not nearly as serious as they are by the person at the other end of the remark. This isn't something that a child should be reprimanded for i feel, but i do think that children should be taught the seriousness of harassment.

   As children we learn to accept our differences - or at least feel that we are accepting them, by building a social wall around ourselves and not letting anyone inside. Solitude becomes a false sense of security; if you dont have friends then no one can hurt you. Depression becomes a way of life, misery is an everyday occurrence. To some this may seem extreme or rare at best, but it is very common - people who are not part of the accepted social group in their childhood sometimes grow into jaded or depressant people in their later teens. Depression is not a rare condition in society, it is very common, one the causes of depression? childhood harassment. Of course it is hard to come to terms with the social difference, when people define this and harass based on it, self acceptance is even harder.

   There are alot of things types of harassment which can have a very negative effect on someone's present and future life. It isn't hard to recognize this fact, however most people seem reluctant in giving someone a break when it comes to social selectivnes. Until you meet someone who is actively hurt from this kind of attitude, it is hard to realize how much it effects lives.

   With people who are over weight you can totally tear someone's self confidence down from making a negative remark about their weight. It is hard enough to accept weight as it is, without having people judge you on it, i know myself from having over weight friends and being over weight myself. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being overweight as long as you feel okay with yourself. Here is a great site which helps over weight people deal with being social "different"; click here, this will open in a new window.

   I hope that the next time you feel like harassing someone even if it is in good humour - stop and think it over before hand, and remember that when you say negative things it does hurt people. It may not scare them for life, but in some cases it can, so remember you could be dealing with a very sensitive subject for that person. For me, being over weight ive learnt to accept it, through making a joke out of it, with friends. But not everyone can joke off harassment, its just that sometimes its easy to forget that, and you could make someone feel worthless. Most people dont set out to accomplish this, but it does happen in the process of having fun with someone.

   Self acceptance is not an easy thing to accomplish for everyone, some people may go through their whole lives without ever truly accepting themselves. Everyone is worthy of themselves, everyone has something to offer to society, no one is worthless. Some people may have a harder time finding this but that doesn't mean you should ever give up, never accept that you are worthless. No matter how you feel or whatever you've done, you are still a person, you still have purpose. Everyone has the right to be happy.