Hair and make up: Jims Oga
Props: Farla Villanueva Retita
Warly came to the shoot prepared and effortlessly projected infront of the camera as if she is a professional at what she does. This girl is confident of herself and obviously very pretty. She blooms even more with the colorful flowers we used in the shoot. It complimented her radiant smile and femininity.
What lies behind the sparkle in her eyes and sunny disposition is a dark experience that has recently wounded her life. She shared with me how cyber-bullying has massively ruined her reputation, disturbed her peace of mind, and affected her emotions in the most damaging way. The bullying was one of the hardest things that she had to face in her teenage years. It was a ruthless attack on her worth as a human being and made her feel hopeless inside.
It took a lot of willpower and comfort from friends and loved ones to pull her out of that dark pit. I truly admire how she was able to move on from her past and use the pain to help her become a better person and learn from her mistakes. That is truly commendable.
I personally believe that no person, especially a young woman like her, deserves to be harassed and bullied like that. We may not exactly like everyone we see online or have disagreements with someone on Facebook or Twitter, but attacking them relentlessly is nothing short of cruel. Cyber-bullying should seriously be penalized as a crime (go Nancy Binay! Haha). But really, I hope we all become more sensitive of others’ feelings and become responsible Internet users.
Cyber-bullying has lead some teens to commit suicide, engage in violent acts or become mentally ill. But in some cases, some victims of cyber-bullying display a kind of strength and determination to remove themselves out of it and become advocates, using their voices to speak against the evils of cyber-bullying. These people should be applauded and be given a pat in the back. Just like Warly.
