Nicolette TalylorPeople have gotten a lot more serious about bullying in the past two years. More protective and strict policies have been put in schools, organizations have been created and there is so much more media attention surrounding bullying. Although all of these proactive measures are to help ensure that young people are not bullied, some are taking matters into their own hands by trying to ensure that they cannot be bullied any longer. Thirteen-year-old Nicolette Taylor of Long Island, New York was a child model, however she was left with a bump in her nose after breaking it twice, the most recent time being when she was eight years old. “It hangs crooked, and when I smile the tip of my nose kind of goes down like an arrow,” Taylor told ABC News. (There is also an interesting video at that link). It bothered Nicolette enough to get plastic surgery after insults from her peers were written on her Facebook. “They went on Facebook, and they started posting, ‘Hey big nose,'” Maria Taylor, Nicolette’s mother, told ABC News. “It happened probably about five times that week…I came in when she was on the phone with the boy, and I took the phone from her, and I said, ‘Listen, you need to take them off Facebook.’ I was crazy, crazy.” “Everyone could see [the comments],” Nicolette told ABC News. “All my friends could see it, all my new friends, and I didn’t want them saying things. Because gossip goes around, and it really hurts.” Although Nicolette was aware that being teased is sometimes a typical part of growing up, the insults did leave a sting. Her mother, who initially had wanted her to wait until she was 18 to fix her nose, decided to let her daughter get a nose job after watching her daughter suffer from the bullying in school and online. “That made me pick up the phone and make an appointment for a consultation,” Maria Taylor told ABC News. “I was like, ‘If this is really hurting her like this, then she has to be feeling insecure and horrible about herself.'” Nicolette became the youngest rhinoplasty patient of Dr. Sam Rizk in New York City. Rizk stated that 25% of his nose jobs are performed on teens, and usually because of a similar bullying situation. Almost 250,000 teens had cosmetic surgery in 2010, according to the American Association of Plastic Surgeons. The question is, was Nicolette to young to get this procedure?  Dr. Richard Gallagher, a child psychologist, told ABC News that kids should be taught to be proud of their appearance and defend themselves, but he admitted that this type of bullying can work away at one’s self esteem. He also said kids should avoid social media until they’re 15, making them more emotionally prepared to deal with their peers on websites such as Facebook. When Taylor saw her new nose after the cast was removed, she cried tears of joy. Starting in a new school for her eighth grade year, she has already made the cheerleading team and made new friends. She told reporters there’s always a chance she’ll be picked on again, but that she’s so elated about her recent transformation that she won’t let it faze her. I’m not sure if the nose job will really correct the issue, because when people decide they want to bully you or make your life miserable, they’ll find anything to prey upon. Unfortunately, it probably will not be the last time Nicolette gets insulted by her peers. Personally, I don’t think it’s a great idea to teach kids that if there is a part of them that is being ridiculed, that plastic surgery, dieting, etc. is the answer. Kids should be taught to be happy with themselves and not to live their lives to please/be accepted by others. Or, perhaps investing money in therapy would have a more lasting effect and more benefits.

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