Everybody has heard, lived through or experience some kind of harassment or bullying at some stage in their lives. Being laugh at, an unkind comment, being pushed at a queue or even being spat at can be forms of bullying or harassment causing serious harm to someone’s confidence, especially that of a teenager, who’s confidence is still in the process of being formed, being shaped.

Cyberbullying however is a new method of harassment, a shrewd line of attack, not always subtle but deadly serious because the damaged caused is silenced, spread at an amazing speed throughout social media.

Far too many young girls and boys have been bullied online, leading to extreme cases such as self-harm and even suicide. The failure to prioritize this issue is cause for deep concern.

Harassment, offensive name- calling, spreading of false rumours, sharing of images without consent, physical threats, receiving explicit images are some specific kind of cyberbullying among teens, which can be overwhelming and devastating for a young person.

It’s hard enough for teenagers to understand the world they live in, to understand who they are. They rely on parents, friends and family to guide them but sometimes they also listen to those so-called friends, sometimes without a face, who crush their confidence without remorse, humiliate them for the sake of a laugh, and what is worst, most of the time without even realising the damage inflicted, arguing that, this comments are normal “cos they have done it to me too”.

We must find a way to spread this reality and make more people aware of the situation. Social media platforms must do more to tackle this 21st century predicament. We must find a way to spread the truth about cyber-bullying.

Each government is key to give a solution or even try to resolve this cyberbullying issue, by providing more strict regulations to social media platforms, especially giants such as Facebook, Tweeter, Snapchat, etc. Rich money makers social media platforms who receive constants complaints about incidents within their users causing real harm to others, and do very little to avoid it.

But also, and more importantly we must educate the general public of what is going on, how to avoid it, how to tackle it, especially among children and youngsters, who are the most vulnerable, who are easy to impress, influence and manipulate.

In order to do this, we must start we ourselves, we must show example, as parents, as teachers, as supervisors, as managers, as human beings, we must stop abusive, discourteous and ill-manner treatment to other individuals, no matter who they are.

Bullying, harassment or cyberbullying must stop now. Tolerance is the fundamental key to a better society, thus a better world.

Risk is taken, unwittingly sometimes, by all of us in our everyday life. We
don’t even realize how many times we take these unimportant decisions
that makes the turnout, for better or for worse.

For instance, a real life risk would be whether to walk the ten minutes pace to work or take the car which will save us a few minutes to spare in other things. We don’t really know the out-turn, anything can happen.

These are the kind of gamble we take constantly in our lives. However, we also tend to consider risks that can be a lot more difficult to deal with, not
in vain, these harder choices can drastically change our lives, decision like
moving to another country or getting married and having children.

Personally, I believe these are our greatest risk-taken choices in our lifetime.

We live in a world surrounded by scary situations, frightful
and dangerous realities alternated with beauty, delicacy and love, exposed
to us by the media around the world, hence the impression of
being safe and sound but also idle and bored.

On the other hand the challenge involved in taking such risks or at best the
lack of it can be also very strong. Seemingly, ‘regret’ is a feeling we try very hard to avoid, yet it’s constantly allusive in our minds.

Certainly, the decisions we take affect our whole existence, changing our
ways as we grow old, given us the maturity and wisdom needed to take
even more risks. After all who said life was easy.

She is 15 and thinks she knows everything,. To her eyes there is nothing you can teach her anymore. Friends issues; check, school issues; check, love issues; check, sports, health, whatever; check, check,check. She simply won’t listen to you anymore.

How can I be closer to her again? How can I get her to spend five minutes with mommy like she used to? Where is that little girl who kissed and hugged you every five seconds? I feel like screaming, what have you done to my daughter?

But, I have to be realistic, that little girl is not longer here, instead the bud has opened and it’s flourishing. My little girl has become an independent, self-sufficient, responsible young woman.

I now realize that as a mom there is always something you can show and teach as she gets older even if she is not conscious of it yet. She will, with not doubt about it, follow your steps, but she will also create her own path, a path that will lead to her own children to follow.

by Teresa Fernandez

I must have been 5 or 6 years old the first time I saw a dead man, my mum and I were walking through the streets of our neighborhood in Santiago de Chile, although I cannot remember the name of the area, I remember that day very well. 

It was a very hot and stuffy summer’s day, I remember seeing some people coming and going very quietly from this place which l first thought to be a shop, my mum explained to me that it was a wake, she told me that those people were going in to pay their respect to the dead man’s relatives and that so were we.

I had been told about death before but I didn’t expect what I saw. I saw a huge wooden box with an old man inside sleeping or so I thought, he looked so peaceful, his face was serene and placid, almost happy. My mum warned me that I could be frightened, but that there wasn’t anything to be afraid of, she explained that God was minding him, “He is in heaven now, God will look after him” she said softly. But I wasn’t frightened, I was simply curious, If anything I felt sorry for the old women dressed in black crying silently next to the coffin. 

I kept staring at the many people coming and going, leaving all kinds of ornaments, flowers and cards, saying beautiful caring words of condolences to those women sitting around the coffin. There was a large table full of drinks and delicacies to eat, “delicacies”, that’s what my mum called the weird food before me. Even though doors and windows were wide open, a stiff and heavy smell of incense concentrated around the room, the flickering flames on the many candles and soothing music gave the room an overpowering ambiance, at least that is the way I remember it. I was very young but I understood immediately that this old man lying in this box had been loved by many people. 

Many years had passed since, how different it was this time around. I was 17 years old then, my family and I had moved to Spain many years before, It had rained quite a lot since that first time I saw the old  man in the wooden box. This time there was not an old man before me, this time it was a boy, a 16 year old boy.

It was a very sad day for me because this boy was my friend, a friend who I really loved and care for, a friend who I thought to be a beautiful person in so many ways. I was sad, not because he was gone, I was sad, not because he was so young to die, I was sad because there were only a bunch of people at his funeral, just a few friends and some people who were simply there to gossip about how he had lived and how he had died. Yes, I was sad but I was also grateful since I knew that he, my friend, was now in a much better place, that God was going to look after him now. I knew he was going to be just fine, that he would not longer suffer as he had since he was only a small boy. 

But that is another story.

By Teresa Fernandez

Is not easy to accept, let alone, love your in-laws, unless these are exceptionally kind, thoughtful people and most importantly, do not interfere in your business.

When you marry someone, it is inevitable that your spouse comes automatically attached to their family, their parents, you don´t marry one person, you become married to a whole family. It´s a whole package.

But since you love your spouse, you should also accept all of those who are closest to and loved by your wife/husband with patient, respect and understanding, just as you would expect the same from your partner.

Accepting your in-laws is also your way to prove your love. if you give respect, you will receive respect.

By Teresa Fernandez

Is it possible to feel this way about something so small, so delicate, so perfect, so beautiful? Most importantly, I can’t believe this perfect creature is mine. After twelve hours of agonizing pain, feeling my pelvis bone stretching, feeling the need to push while the obstetrician dictates me not to. No one can ever imagine the pain yet the excitement of delivering a baby, your baby.

How can I have lived all my life without this little person that will be, without any doubt the center of my entire life for the rest of my life?

I will not longer live for my own self, my priorities have changed from this moment on. I am no longer one.

I am now certain that my heart and soul have been conquered for the rest of my days. My life has changed. I have become a lioness, ready to defend my new born from any one or anything. Compliant forever to care for this little being with the strength and the determination to give her the best of me.