Amanda Todd, a 15-year-old Vancouver teenager who had been struggling with online and physical bullying since 7th grade, took her life of October 10, 2012. Just one month before committing suicide, Amanda posted a heartbreaking video on YouTube describing years of harassment, humiliation, and depression. In the video, titled “My story: Struggling, bullying, suicide, self harm,” Amanda uses a series of index cards to detail her experiences.
In 7th grade, she met a stranger in an online chatroom who convinced her to flash her chest on camera and and who then sent the picture to several people. Ostracized by her peers, Amanda fell into deep depression, suffered from panic disorders, and became addicted to drugs and alcohol. She ate lunch alone and resorted to cutting her wrists to deal with the pain of loneliness and depression. One day, after being physically beaten by a group of bullies, Amanda attempted suicide by drinking bleach. Luckily her father found her and brought her to the hospital. But when she returned home, her Facebook wall was covered with vicious comments such as “I hope she’s dead” and “She deserved it.”
Though Amanda moved to a new school district, the bullying followed her through Facebook. Her new peers posted pictures of bleach on her wall and suggested she try to kill herself again. At the end of the video Amanda writes, “Every day, I think, why am I still here? I’m stuck. What’s left of me now? Nothing stops. I have nobody. I need someone. My name is Amanda Todd.”
Check out the article:
http://abcnews.go.com/International/bullied-teen-amanda-todd-leaves-chilling-youtube-video/story?id=17463266#.UHtii8VUmZA
