Acceptance For All by Deyonne

Acceptance For All by Deyonne - March 2017 Scholarship Essay

“If they don't like you for being yourself, be yourself even more.” Taylor Swift. One issue that affects students world wide is bullying due to intolerant peers. Everyone has the freedom to express themselves the way that they please, but some students feel as if they cannot express themselves the way they please because they’re afraid of how other students may judge them. If I were to give a speech to a school-wide audience, I would talk about the importance of acceptance.
I decided to talk about this because I know that we talk about it, but people don’t really take it seriously. This is close to my heart because I’ve been a victim of being unaccepted for being my true self, and unfortunately I have had suicidal thoughts.According to studies from Yale University, victims of bullying are 2 to 9 times more likely to consider suicide than non-victims. Suicide is a topic that should not be taken lightly because a life is a life no matter how you feel about a person. Being yourself doesn’t come easy for everyone and not accepting someone for who they are makes it even harder. Acceptance can literally save lives when people know that there is someone who will be there for them no matter what.
My freshman year of high school was about the worst year of my life. I moved from Chicago to Texas and I didn’t know anyone. It was hard for me because I didn’t have any friends and the only family I had was my brother, sister, mom, and aunt. Unfortunately, this is when the suicidal thoughts started to sink in. No matter how hard I tried, nothing worked I could not make friends. It wasn’t until second semester that I finally made friends. I owe my life to Theatre. Never have I ever met a more accepting group of people in my life. If it wasn’t for the love and support I got from everyone involved in theatre I wouldn’t be here today. Because of their acceptance I had the courage to be more outgoing and myself because it didn’t matter what anyone else thought because I knew that they would always have my back.
In conclusions, acceptance saves lives. You may not know but you could be the difference in someone’s life just by being kind to them. Not everyone lives the same life so no matter what race you are, sexuality you identify with, how much money is in your pocket, or even what your grades are, we are all brothers and sisters in this world and everyone deserves to feel accepted and loved.