Staying Fat For Sarah Byrnes By Chris Crutcher

Through the higher risk of depression, anxiety and panic attacks, bullying can have a lasting effect on a child, causing them to have a damaged adulthood. The effect is seen whereas adults who were previously a victim and a bully are fifteen times as likely have panic attacks, 5 times greater risk for depression, and 10 times the chance more of suicidal thoughts than adults who were uninvolved in bullying. Nowadays, bullying has a different stance through social media, allowing kids to bully without even being in the same room as one another. With the increased times kids see or talk to their peers through the internet, having a bully close to them has the possibility to become very harmful. Bullying can cause the bullied person to bully others.

In Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher, Sarah has been bullied for the burns on her face. Because of previously being bullied, Sarah acts as if she doesn’t care about being bullied in order that she could stay strong. She tries to keep up a strong outside nevertheless it’s hard since, “...this is the first time I’ve ever seen anyone under that toughness- in anybody.” (Crutcher 179). After the long, never ending days of feeling left out and, someone like Sarah can feel very unsure about themselves. Even if an outsider couldn’t tell that they were bullied, the victim will always have those mean thoughts in the back of their head. Sarah tried to keep up a facade for so long that it wore down what self-confidence she had. The months and years of trying to hide under a disguise is the way many victims deal with their sadness. Once Sarah looked back and started to remember what she went through, she tried to take a break so she wouldn’t hurt again. By harsh words and the struggle to keep up an unrealistic facade, the victim of bullying can easily think that the terrible things said about them are