Here’s What 14-year-old Jackie Evancho can Teach you About Dealing with Bullying

Bullying sucks. It destroys one’s self-esteem and in the long term, it destroys one’s dream. Unfortunately, it happens everywhere, to anyone, regardless of age and gender. It can happen in schools, workplace, and society.

If you are currently pursuing your dream and you often get bullied for you doing so, don’t give up – read on to learn why you need to not only survive, but also triumph over the bullying.

Please note that I’m not a psychologist; instead, I was a victim and understand that not taking action, even running away won’t do you no good.

Just ask Jackie Evancho.

Jackie is one of the most popular teen singers who has gained worldwide recognition as a classical crossover singer. See her magic here (she was 10 years old at that time):

Being so successful at such a young age has both positive and negative implications. As the best-selling debut artist of 2010 (at the age of 10), the youngest top-10 debut artist in the U.S. history, and the youngest solo artist to go platinum (with her album “O Holy Night”, sold over 1 million copies in the U.S. – source), fame has its price to pay: She was bullied because of what she is doing.

Bullying can be scary: Not only verbal bullying, the soon-to-be 15-year-old Jackie also experienced physical bullying: She was punched and choked – for no other reason than for being different than her peers.

And yes, those are quite typical, really. But you need to take action, as getting depressed over it is fatal. It doesn’t have to be that way.

You need to rise above the situation: Don’t let the bullies have control over you and be relentless with your effort to protect yourself. Try to understand their motives and look at the big picture. Always seek help from the people you trust and understand that you are not alone.

If you need some inspiration, here’s Jackie’s epic statement that explains pretty much how to deal with bullying:

“People like me, who are trying to fight their way to the top, they’re different. They are not afraid to be who they wanted to be.”

Watch her interview on dealing with bullying:

Well said, Jackie! Don’t be afraid to be who you want to be, and always, use the bullying as the reason for you to prove them wrong by doing the best you can in pursuing your dream.

And yes, this advice also holds true to many situations, in every setting: At home, school, office, community and so on.

Again, if you can’t handle with the bullying, seek help. It doesn’t make you a loser in doing so!