Megan+Be+Oral

media type="custom" key="4261155"  You can listen to my speech here.

media type="custom" key="4261127"

Just in case it doesn't work here is the written copy:

Imagine, you just accomplished something really great, you might have made a rep sports team, or achieved outstanding results in your last exams and you feel on top of the world. Until //one// envious person decides to ruin it for you, they make some sadistic remark, or start up a horrible rumor behind your back -which is almost virtually impossible to believe but it makes you feel awful anyway. The amazing feelings of self pride you were feeling earlier seem to have evaporated and now all that is left is a horrible consciousness that what the person said may have been true. This type of selfish behavior is called the tall poppy syndrome; it is when someone who has achieved something great is put down by their one of their peers -who is usually jealous. This can happen anywhere, at any age or level, whether it is in a school environment or against someone famous who has accomplished something great for their country. It can happen to anyone who does well at anything (even you) and personally I think that this type of behavior is unacceptable. For example if a sportsperson gains a medal at a high level sporting event you would think the country that they were representing would be proud of them and congratulate them on their performance. But most likely there would be people who were jealous of how well the person did and would try to make their achievements seem less than they actually were. For example they might say that so and so helped them to do that or make up some other unbelievable reason or excuse for the sports person to do as well as they had, they can’t seem to except that the people are genuinely good at what they do. The name ‘Tall poppy syndrome’ is actually only used in New Zealand and Australia, but I imagine that in other countries it is just thought of as another type of selfish behavior or bullying, and to be quite honest I think that is all that it is selfish behavior. I think the main reason for this type of behavior is jealousy, although personally I do not see what these people achieve by making the accomplishments of someone else seem less, it does not make them seem more important. This quote by Benjamin Franklin sums this up. "You cannot strengthen one by weakening another; and you cannot add to the stature of a dwarf by cutting off the leg of a giant. I think this is really true instead of making themselves more liked they just sound like a jealous snob. Another example of the tall poppy syndrome is at a lower level with children at a school or in a sports team. When someone achieves something academically it is not always looked upon as good. The person is quite likely to get teased by their peers about being a nerd or a geek. In a sports team you are not likely to be teased but instead the winners might made to seem as though they didn’t play by the rules, for example “so and so tripped me up” or “so and so pushed me,” therefore the bullying is still having the same results, the achievers (or victims) are made to feel less proud of what they achieved than they should be, and I think this is unfair. So what can we do? Well to start with make sure that __you__ aren’t one of the bullies. Secondly I think that the bullies out there should focus more on achieving things for themselves instead of trying to take the glory off others. Because to be honest //it just isn’t working//, it might be making the achievers feel bad but other than that the bullies aren’t gaining anything. Also if you see someone who is being bullied in this way, stand up for them, I’m not saying go up and make a big scene or anything, just go over and try to lend a hand. So make sure that **you** are not one of those people who are cutting the stems of tomorrow’s great achievers.
 * My Speech **