THE RIPPLE EFFECT

This Millennial Author & Speaker Is Empowering Thousands Of Girls To Stand Up Against All Forms Of Bullying

February 18, 2016 | Posted at 2:21 pm | by Ashley (Follow User)

Photo Credit: (Photo courtesy of Patricia Ottaviano)

On this particular day, dozens of high school girls have gathered into their school gymnasium to hear about the harmful effects of bullying. No, this is not a replication of a scene from the movie, Mean Girls. Instead, this is a scene from the anti-bullying movement being led by admirable Milllennial Patricia “Trish” Ottaviano.
 

Patricia “Trish” Ottaviano is the author Girl World: How to Ditch the Drama and Find Your Inner Amazing and the founder of the non-profit, Sister Soldier. (Photo courtesy of Sister Soldier)

Patricia “Trish” Ottaviano is the author Girl World: How to Ditch the Drama and Find Your Inner Amazing and the founder of the non-profit, Sister Soldier. (Photo courtesy of Sister Soldier)

Trish is leading this movement through her non-profit called, Sister Soldier. To spread the organization’s powerful mission, Trish and her team travel to middle schools and high schools across the country to empower girls to stand up against bullying. Using school assemblies and an empowerment program, Sister Soldier is focused on alleviating the pain that students have experienced from bullying. It’s pain she came to face-to-face with in seventh grade when her friends suddenly turned on her.
 

“One day, my close friends decided I was no longer part of their ‘group,’ and the result was about 10 months of constant bullying,” she told Teen Vogue in a recent interview. “But it was mostly the subtle bullying like the dirty looks, the exclusion, the mean text messages, and the prank calls — the stuff that stayed under the radar, but was very difficult to go through.”
 

Trish told RIZZARR that as a 13-year-old, the bullying was a very traumatic experience for her. She couldn’t grasp what was happening, why it was happening, or how to deal with it. She felt alone.
 

“I cried, I would fake sick…. anything to stay home from school,” she told RIZZARR. “I cried right in front of them at times. I lost all of my integrity and confidence. I’ve now realized your reaction is so much of your power and how bullies react to that.”
 

It was this early experience with bullying that later triggered her passion for helping and empowering girls to combat bullying. After earning her Bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Michigan, and a Masters in school psychology from Yeshiva, she became inspired to write her book, Girl World: How to Ditch the Drama and Find Your Inner Amazing.
 

“The whole book and organization started from my personal experience in middle school,” Trish said. “I put myself back into my 13-year-old self.”
 

Courtesy of Sourcebooks

Courtesy of Sourcebooks


 

According to Trish, she wanted the book to act as a guide for girls in how to overcome bullying. She said she wrote it in such a way that was relatable in understanding the best ways to handle any bullying situation. She also particularly focused on the subtle forms of bullying, like gossiping, that are not always addressed in the mainstream media.
 

“I want to transform girl’s ideas on bullying and include the subtle stuff that they are doing on a daily basis,” she told RIZZARR. “I realized it was the subtle bullying, not the forms you see on the news, that I endured and what many girls endure. Those experiences really inspired me to want to show how impactful and detrimental the subtle forms of bullying can be to a person.”
 

When Trish and her team present to students, they normally start with a video clip and then begin discussions about the video. Trish also talks about her personal background in order to create authenticity and open the girls up to sharing their personal experiences centered around bullying, self-esteem, and confidence. They also engage in interactions that spark greater conversations, write apology cards, and take pledges to help fight bullying.
 

Photo courtesy of Sister Soldier

Photo courtesy of Sister Soldier

Photo courtesy of Sister Soldier

Photo courtesy of Sister Soldier

Photo courtesy of Sister Soldier

Photo courtesy of Sister Soldier


 

“This is a universal experience among girls,” she said. “And all of them discover that it doesn’t matter your background, ethnicity… all of that stuff doesn’t matter. When they see their peer also having the same issue, it cuts down a lot of the divide. They are moved.”
 

Through her movement, Trish believes the students gain a deeper understanding of the power of their words and how they themselves have the power to break the cycle of bullying.
 

“You can see the [positive] impact on their faces when we talk about the power of our words and how they can make a difference,” she said. “I think a lot of the times when you remind them that they have power and everything that they say carries so much weight, they remember it. They think, ‘I can’t just say to someone that they are fat, ugly, or weird because it carries power.’”
 

Additionally, from these talks on the power of words, Trish said she and the students have realized just how much social media has often perpetrated relational aggression: “I think social media acts as a buffer and shield. But by teaching the girls that it all goes back to their choices, how they use their words, and how social media can be used for good, then that can change things.”
 

As Trish continues her journey in helping girls to overcome bullying, she plans to speak at other schools in different states from now until the end of the school year. She also told RIZZARR she might even write another book one day, as she has realized the importance of sharing her personal experiences and understanding to help heal and empower other girls, just like her.
 

“I used to think I was the only person with this story,” she said. “The responses from these girls, their parents, and the schools have been so amazing.”
 


 
 

To read about how you get can involved in the Sister Soldier movement, click here.