“Never give up.”
That
was the message from anti-bullying activist, Mr Jon Pritikin, who riveted the
audience of more than 150 YMCA School students and teachers during a talk at
YMCA of Singapore on 4 August 2014.
Mr
Pritikin, who hails from California, USA, shared his personal experience of how
he struggled with bullying as a young boy. Diagnosed
at an early age with a severe learning disability, he endured cruel and
relentless taunting, ridiculing, and bullying from his school peers and
neighborhood children on a daily basis, and consequently, struggled with low
self-esteem.
But
Mr Pritikin overcame these obstacles and not only managed to graduate from
college, he also became a motivational speaker and accomplished feats of
unusual strength, such as bending a steel bar with his teeth and tearing an entire phone book with one swift action,
which he demonstrated to an amazed audience.
The
students were in awe of Mr Pritikin and were inspired by his message of
perseverance and hard work. One of them said after the talk, “I want to be like
him.”
Mr Pritikin was invited to speak as part of YMCA
School’s mission to provide a holistic education and instil values and build
character among our students.
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