I found this from 1citizen competition. The story is meaningful for all kids and teenagers nowadays. Feel free to read this true story.

1. Amanda Todd
I’m Amanda Todd. I died not too long ago. This is my story.
I never understood what really happened. I kept making mistakes and people blame me for each
and every one of them. I realised the mistakes I made but why won’t people leave it be? Prejudiced
looks, whispers behind my back, laughs, cruel jokes that rip my heart out of my chest. Slowly but
gradually, I lost the faith I had towards society. Looking at the best in people seemed nothing more than
worthless efforts to cover up the truth.
What caused my death? The Internet and the users.
Going on anonymous chats was a favourite past time for me when I was eleven. I can become
whoever I want to be and people won’t find out. Isn’t the Internet supposed to be safe? Dangers aren’t
supposed to happen, right? I never heard of pornography, pedophilia or any of those sorts. I just looked
at it as something I enjoyed to do, to meet new people, to have fun. There was a guy though, he seemed
nice. He called me pretty, adorable and he said I was one in a million. I’ve never fell in love before and to
hear those words, it just made me melt.
But I should have known better. He asked me if I would be naked for him. Being the naïve little
girl I was, I agreed to his little request, thinking it was one time and no one else would know. Time
passed since the incident and life went on. Weeks, then months, then years past and I settled in high
school only to enjoy the few pleasures of it till the past came back to haunt me. I was on Facebook one
day and a guy I didn’t know approached me on chat. And believe it or not, he threatened me! He said if I
don’t send him any more pictures of me naked then my original picture would be e-mailed to my
friends, family and neighbors.
Obviously, I ignored the threat. It seemed ridiculous, absurd even. How can someone have
access to that one picture that was taken years ago? And why now? The next morning, I was stunned to
hear the shocking news that revealed the beginning of the end to my normal life. The threat I received
was no joke, he literally sent that embarrassing picture of me to everyone I knew. At school, I cowered
behind others, ashamed of how everyone made fun of me, looks like they got the news. My friends
ditched me, my teachers looked down on me, my parents were embarrassed because of me.
I cried every night from then on. Sat alone at lunch, pretending to read a book but I knew deep
in my heart, how everyone thought of me. I searched the Internet and rows of rows of photos of me,
disgusting comments on me being a slut, edited pictures that received millions of views just because
people enjoyed watching me suffer. My fragile little heart shattered. But I held on. No matter how
painful life was for me, I still believed that everyone has a good side. I believed that there will come a
time when people would understand. I was wrong.
My family moved to an area far away, hoping to escape the torture we were all facing. My dad
got a new job and my siblings never mentioned a word at their new schools. Things turned out okay at
first, until one person. That one person recognized who I was on the Internet. In fact, that person was

2. someone who enjoyed laughing at my embarrassment. Word spread like wildfire and it took only mere
hours to ruin my first day at school. In no time, my life turned back to how it was, where every look and
glance I receive was a cruel reminder of my carelessness.
And maybe because I still had a spark of innocence in me, I fell for a guy who was actually nice
towards me. Who cared for me, who loved me. He had a girlfriend though, and I respect that. But one
night, his girlfriend was on vacation. We hung out together and he said he wanted me. He said he
wanted all of me.
As if fate wanted to show me a sign, lies got me in trouble again. I fell for a selfish idiot who
cared for no one but himself. When his girlfriend returned, she found out he cheated and dumped him.
As if I was the one who started it, he took out all his anger on me. Can you believe it? Not only did he
call me a prostitute, but he acted as if he was the victim. He acted as if losing his girlfriend was the end
of the world when someone as handsome as him could pick up any girl he wanted. He acted as if losing a
girlfriend was worse than losing my dignity. He wagged whatever little shred of my dignity I had left in
front of me on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, MySpace, Blogger. There was no end to it. And with that, the
strong belief I had towards seeing the good in others died along with my dignity.
I lost hope in living. I saw no point in it. My first attempt at suicide was by drinking bleach. It
may seem ridiculous but I wanted my life to end quickly. So I grabbed the closest corrosive item I had.
Unfortunately bleach wasn’t terminal. And someone heard of my effort in killing myself and spread it
across the Internet yet again. People weren’t sympathetic about it though, they just continued laughing.
Ridiculing the fact that I even failed at trying to kill myself, that the method I used to kill myself with was
silly. And so I tried again, this time by hanging myself. I ended up failing but third time’s the charm.
During my final moments, I posted a video on Youtube telling my story to the world, stating my
disappointment. And as my eyes fluttered and my mind began to drift away, I felt the numbness spread
throughout my body. It wasn’t only physical numbness though, I finally felt the weight on my shoulders
dissipate.
Cyber-bullying may seem simple but it is dangerous. When people are bullied on the Internet,
they don’t get bullied only by the small community that they live in, but the world would know as well.
Society has been fed with immoral acts and their minds have been set as to treat it normally. People
strive when their websites, videos, blogs gain millions of views without realising how the contents affect
others. Society has also been treated with contents that trigger sexual intentions. Pedophilia and
pornography are treated like it is an act of norm. But has anyone thought about what these intentions
could turn into? I don’t think so. I, as a victim, realise my mistakes but I also realise the causes of
unethical acts on the Internet.