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I don't know about y'all, but I think almost everyone can recall a time in their life when they were bullied. I was bullied, my junior and senior year of high school; however, times have changed since I walked the hallowed halls of Garland High. Nowadays, bullies don't just act in person, in fact most don't. The internet is a beautiful thing, but some days I honestly believe it is from the devil. Our age of technology has created monsters who sit behind keyboards and bang out trolling messages. If you haven't experienced cyber bullying, then you probably know someone who has.

October is National Bullying Prevention Month and this past weekend, I was prompted to raise awareness, after I received the following comment on this instagram photo, and then was harassed continually on my snap chat account. The account has since been blocked

(I'll preface the comment by saying that I had a video on my snap chat (ElleSpann) where my dad was recounting a conversation a Texas Tech fan had with him. I have good friends who went to Texas Tech, and most of my suite at the game was filled with TTU fans instead of Baylor fans. Additionally, my Tech friends thought the video was hilarious and not offensive.)

That is not the first, worst, or even last rude comment I will receive on my social media platforms. I'm also not the only blogger who this occurs to. For example, if you're a Dallas gal or just follow along with Dallas Fashion, then you know who Courtney Kerr is. She has some of the worst haters on the planet! Just go read her Instagram comments. Now, I'm not comparing myself to Courtney Kerr; she is way ahead of me in the blogging game, but unfortunately this happens or has happened to pretty much any blogger you follow, you just may not see it. My point in writing this post is not to make you feel sorry for me/us. What I hope you get out of it, is that bloggers are people too. Technology has cut out personal contact, so it is a lot easier to bully. So, before you tag your friend on someone else's insta pic to say that they need to eat a cheeseburger, get on Weight Watchers, or should "get work done", remember that behind every blogger is a real person who puts hours upon on hours of work to bring you media rich content. If you don't like what they do, simply don't follow them or even block their account so you don't see it come across the popular page. 

So how can you help/prevent cyber bullying? Here's 3 easy tips:

1) If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.

2) If you do have something you feel like you need to tell someone, you should send it in a private message, not across a public forum; however, before you do, make sure you have the whole story. If you're upset about someone you don't even know, chances are that you don't know what is exactly going on. This also works the opposite way. If you see cyber bullying, you might send a private message to make sure that person is okay. A lot of the disorderrs and illnesses today, stem from how we compare ourselves to others and the pressure to do so.

3) Stand up for others. Whether it is a nice comment or taking a stand against a previous comment, you can seriously make a difference AND someone's day.

If you're a blogger (or anyone with social media accounts), here's some Do's and Don'ts for you in regard to Cyber Bullying:

1) Don't take it personally. It's okay to be sad about it, but don't let bullying bring you down. When people troll, they usually have low self esteem and are trying to make themselves fell better by tearing people down. HATERS GONNA HATE. 

2) Do let yourself be vulnerable. You're basically posting your whole life anyway, so let your followers know you have bad hair days and struggle just like them. Whether it be via your blog, instagram, or snap chat, do it. This helps humanize you and make you more relatable.

3) Do Block accounts. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you don't want to lose a follower, but if you are having issues block and report! This not only keeps you from having to deal with it, but also helps alert companies to shut down the account and stop bullies from getting others involved.

So, just like my adorable top, let your (leopard) spots show and just be yourself! Did you really think I wouldn't tie this post back to my outfit?;) Have a great day and be kind! 

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