Tags
bullying, fitting in, high school, inspirational, stories, storytelling, To This Day Project - Shane Koyczan, videos
I watched this a few weeks ago but it has stayed with me ever since. It touches on emotional material (bullying/highschool). But it’s one of the most beautiful and touching pieces of storytelling.
Did it tear your heart in two as well?
– Ermisenda
Ermilia 
Cracking animation!
Glad you liked it Marie!
Maybe it’s a cultural thing, but I honestly couldn’t make much sense of it at all. I’d be glad to have a translation and explanation.
It’s interesting that you thought it might have been a cultural thing. It felt so universal to me. Effectively it’s a poem about bullying in schools and the lasting impact it has on children as they become adults. He talks about three particular children: himself (pork chop), the girl with the birthmark on her face, and the medicated adopted boy with a bunch of mental illnesses (depression is mentioned).
One of my favourite comments underneath the video sums up what it’s about is:
[We are the survivors. Every single person that has been labeled “gay fag queer retard worthless fat anorexic stupid pork chop” or anything else. To everyone reading this, who has been bullied, who didnt live the perfect life, you are a survivor. It has only made us stronger, we are kinder, more understanding people because of it. Nothing is wrong with any of us. ]
I might add that to everyone reading this who did the bullying, who tormented someone because they were less than perfect, and to everyone who stood by and watched: you were wrong.
Right in the feels Anne.
Thanks for the explanation, Ermilia. Looking back at the video, I see that there seems to be at least one part missing, hence my incomprehension. It’s clear now, although pork chop is a new insult to me. Also, well said, Anne. I know what it’s like to have been on the receiving end. Perhaps most of us do. Unlike some of my childhood tormentors, I am still alive, never ended up in prison, never took drugs, or became dependent on alcohol, have a loving and close family with no ghosts from the past, and can face my future with equanimity. There is a certain satisfaction in that.
this video literally gives me chills. as a high school student growing up in this day and age i realize how hurtful people can be. recently a girl at my high school was bullied for being on the football team. saturday night, august 30th, she killed herself. it hurts my heart to know that teenagers just like me are cruel enough to say things so hurtful that somebody would take their own life. i trying to get my teacher to play this video for my class so people can see what their hurtful words cause. #RIPpatsy