Meredith O’Connor, singer and anti-bullying activist, came to WMS to talk and sing about bullying in the auditorium on Friday December 8th.

Meredith O’Connor spread the word that students “aren’t alone” to WMS. Meredith O’Connor has been spreading the word since her tour and said “the reason I’m so passionate about making it my slogan is because the hardest part of middle school for me was feeling alone. I thought that I was the only one because, for all I knew, I was the only one.”

Meredith O’Connor said that on her tour she heard many stories and all of them lead back to kids feeling alone, “Hundreds of thousands of people said they feel alone and I thought it was ironic for so many people to be saying they feel the same way, thus, proving they’re not alone.”

The influential pop star went on to explain a major problem she sees in schools today. She feels that students ask the question, “Why should I report it if it’s true?” For example, students are told that they aren’t “pretty enough” or “good enough” by their peers and after a while they start to believe it and not stand up for themselves. Meredith O’Connor said “I think people should respect each other instead of bringing each other down.”

O’Connor says, “If you’re lucky enough to be different, not to ever change.” WMS got the message as 8th grader, Celeste Polanco, said the performance “was very uplifting” and Mikaylah Coleman said she got the message “to be yourself.”

The liveliness O’Connor gave off left WMS talking about her. Mr. Harris said “she was energetic” Coleman said “she had me clapping.”