To This Day

Background info about this poem: To This Day is a spoken word or poem about bullies and the bullied, written by Shane Koyczan. Shane has also been recorded, and the poem was strung together with animations created by various artists. The video is backed by a quiet, minor song with string instruments. The author, Shane, has also written various other spoken words, but To This Day is his most famous work. He has given TED Talks centered around bullying, and his poem became so popular it has an app and website supported by Bullying.org, an organization supporting the victims of bullying who feel alone. The app has features that allow users to read the poem like a book, with clips of animation on each page and easily share lines that they like on social media platforms.

To This Day is seven minutes of an intense story about the experiences of Shane Koyczan, and those of the people he's met as well. He writes about himself, growing up as an overweight child. He also tells the story of a girl with a birthmark on her face. People marked her as ugly, and those innocent words had a long-lasting effects on her, even as an adult. He talks about an adopted boy who struggles with depression and takes various medications, which earned him nicknames and weird looks in school. The whole thing starts to feel dark and sad; it makes you realize how you've been bullied or how terrible it is that you've labeled people. For the lucky people who haven't been in a bully situation, Shane describes how hard it is to feel good about yourself when you hear whispered labels, or you are singled out for something that embarrasses you. And at the very end of the poem, is the light at the end of the tunnel. After all these stories of struggles and hurt feelings, he turns his attention from the bullies to the victims. He validates what hurt them, and then reminds them that they are still here, they've made it this far. They are still alive because they quit or let the words bring them to an end. His words take an uplifting turn as he tells all the victims that the bullies are wrong, and those labels are false words and to keep holding their ground.

In this particular poem, I admire Shane's ability to turn such a dark topic into such an uplifting message for bully victims. And as someone who hasn't really experienced bullying, I've realized the impact of labeling people, even when I don't insult them personally. In the past, I may have labeled and subconsciously discluded someone because of how they appear or act. It's not the same as insulting someone, or calling them names. But that subtle disclusion of a peer can hurt too. And it's much more common that teenagers form clicks and disclude each other until someone feels like they really don't belong anywhere. It's a scary feeling. Labeling and discluding others is a habit I hope I've outgrown by now, but that I know others still need to work on. Finally, Shane is strong role model for bullying victims because he shares his personal experiences and doesn't glorify it. His poem is dark because he doesn't hide how hurtful bullying is. To This Day is just a very real poem to listen to. Thank you, Shane, for your beautiful writing, and for keeping it so real. You break the ice for people to talk about the impacts of bullying, and how to stop it in the future.

Stay awesome,
Claire

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To This Day official website.

Bullying.org, which sponsored the site for Shane's poem.