September is known as Suicide Awareness Month. Not many
people know about this month and those who do, normally underestimate the
cause.

5,000 teenagers commit suicide each year, while more than
30,000 Americans commit suicide each year. Eight percent of students said that
they had attempted suicide while twenty-seven percent said they had thought of
suicide.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among people between
the ages of 14 and 25 in the USA alone. Most of these suicides are results of
bullying both in person and on the computer. Forty-one percent of teens bullied
never tell told a parent or teacher. They informed no one of the pain they were
going through. They didn’t have anyone they felt they could trust.

Watch out for warning signs, you might be able to help
someone.

Some signs of warning are as listed;

• Showing signs of severe depression (ongoing
  sadness, lack of interest in favorite activities, etc.)
• Talking about or showing interest in death or
  dying
• Engaging in dangerous or harmful activities
  (self-injury/abuse)
• Giving away possessions or saying goodbye to
  people
• Saying they can’t handle things anymore
• Making comments that things would be better off
  without them (www.bullyingstatistics.org)

Students don’t realize that they can be the difference. If
you stop bagging on that “ugly” person and complement their shoes instead, it
can make a difference. It’s not a big problem here in Corsicana but anywhere
you go, you can make the right choice. If you become the voice for those who
don’t speak up for themselves you can save a life.

Suicide isn’t a big deal in CHS. We help our peers. Just
because suicides are not common in our school, we need to keep an eye out
because you never know. Let’s be heroes as well as tigers. Stop bullying, start
helping, and remember those who already left. If any school is capable of
turning around bullying, it’s our school. It’s Corsicana.