I have an 11 year old niece that comes home crying after school almost everyday. She is so caring ,giving and smart. She has been called a pothead because she likes yoga. She has been called stupid and weirdo because she believes that you need to eat right to have a healthy brain as well as body. Even though she knew she would probably be teased, she shaved her head to donate her hair to Kids with Cancer. It's sad to hear that the school will do nothing about this...even though they apparently have a "no tolerance policy". I try to be there for her as much as I can but it's hard when I live in Denver and they are all the way back in Canada. My sister is very loving and very involved with her children but obviously can't be there at school to protect them. I know what it's like to feel alone and lost with no hope and if I could I would shield every child from this pain. Watching the news, it frightens me that so many young innocent hearts are being hardened and scarred from such hatred. These are the ones that will be inheriting the earth. Why not teach them love, forgiveness, and tolerance. To all of the young people going through tough times, remember......this will just make you a stronger more compassionate person who will smile at every passing person because you know that it will make their day a little better, you will not be so quick to judge others, you are beautiful the way you are and You will make the world a better place just by being YOU. Love others, even their faults. Don't let anyone make you doubt yourself! Hold your head high but not so high that you look down on others. Song to check out - Give Love by MC Yogi

I was bullied on and off throughout elementary and middle school, getting called a slut (I was in 2nd grade, and I did not lose my virginity until 18 years old...), being left out, getting pinched daily (I still can't tolerate it). But the worst was from 4th through 7th grade. I transferred to a new school, and from day 1, I started getting bullied. I am now 24 years old, and I still could not tell you why. It wasn't physical, but mental. They either didn't talk to me, or would make fun of me. With approximately the same 30 or so kids for 4 years, they kept coming up with random crap to tease me with. Calling me Medusa was popular at one point, making fun of the pronunciation of my name (Maya, pron: Mah-ya) was another. Once they asked me which name they thought was worse (kin or ghin [this was in Japan so these are kind of hard to write out]) and after I told them ghin, they started calling me that behind my back. It was an international school so there were new kids every year, and I'd try to befriend them, which would work for about a day, and then they'd join everyone else. The teachers watched this everyday, I once asked one of them to change the seating because one of the girls kept passing notes. I was also being bullied outside of school, at a ballet class I took 3x/wk, which my physically abusive mother wouldn't let me quit, and my father was never home, so he had no idea. My 2 years younger sister had great friends and great grades, and was too young to understand anything that was happening. I was very depressed, and suicidal, and went through every single day wishing I were dead, wondering why no one cared, and why I was invisible. People talk about how great childhood was, I am not one of those people. I am not entirely positive as to how I've made it this far, but I have. I am really glad I have. I still struggle with it, but it no longer runs my life. My relationship with my mother, while still rocky, is getting repaired, and I have some really incredible friends, who try to understand the psychological impact this still has on me today.

So here is my message. . If you ever have bullied someone, please apologize but don't let it eat you alive. But don't apologize for the sake of apologizing, you should really be sorry. If you are doing the bullying, please stop. It is not worth anyone's time, or their pain. If you are watching it happen, especially teachers, please make an effort to stop it. Lastly and most important, If you are getting bullied, it is NOT YOUR FAULT. Don't think it is, and iIT DOES GET BETTER. There are good people out there who care about you, and want to help you live a happy life. Go find them, because they will think your life is valuable. And your life is valuable, don't take it away

(Side note: Thank you to the founders of thebullyproject, this is incredible.)

My name is Tyree Banks I am bullied constantly by verbal words. I am not going to lie I am fat but that dosen't give kids the right to bully me. I have gym in school and the kids say "Run fat boy run" or they call me "Twinkie". Its not funny it hurts my feelings and once made me cry.

I don't know.

when i was in the 5th and 6th grade i was bullied not physically but mentally. i was told i was ugly, that i should kill myself, that i was a nerd because i read all the time, played bassoon and was in advanced classes. my 'friends' i had known my whole life would tell me to go away, they didn't want to talk me, that i was weird, too skinny, too fat, they didn't even blink when they said that they hated me. no one ever hit me but it still took its toll on me. my grades slipped from A's and B's to D's and F's and i couldn't even bring myself to care. i was hiding behind my books and the characters in them. harry potter was my best friend, nancy drew was the big sister mine never was. About halfway through my 6th grade year i decided i was finished with these kids who probably didn't care that i was sucidal and depressed. i decided i was going to fight back. i got in a fight with a girl because i sat at the wrong picnic table at P.E. in 5th grade. no one won, the coach pulled us apart before anything serious happened. i was gaining confidence in myself. i wasn't as withdrawn in myself. i got up and i spoke up. the teachers never did anything but i did. when the other kids, not the bullys the kids like me, caught on to what i was doing they got up and spoke up too. i had a following by the end of 7th. i ran for student council and lost but one of my friends, a real one, made vice-president of the 7th grade. he spoke up at the meetings about the epidemic running unchecked in our school. between us we got a lot acomplished. people started to leave other kids alone they would stop and help someone who had been shoved and dropped their books. these small acts of kindness helpped not only me but other kids realize that we aren't worthless, that there is hope, that maybe one day bullying would be a thing of the past. an enigma from a not-so-peaceful generation. i am proud to say i haven't been bullied in almost 2 years, that i survived to tell you this story. i am now an 8th grader at a different school and i am still working to help my peers. i am proud to say most of my friends at both schools are gay or bisexual or fat or nerdy or play a bassoon. just remember the german word for bassoon is fagott so when someone calls you a faggot think of it as a compliment it means you are beautiful and can do amazing things. you will do things you could never imagine. suicide and selfharm is not the answer. i know your pain and i got through it, you can too. just think on the bright side and listen to lots of music. they can't hurt you if you don't let them.

I am merely a student, but unlike certain adults, I can clearly see the difference between right and wrong. My sisters were bullied all through out their years in school, and I was the only one there to stand up for them. Because of them, I have made it my personal goal to teach children to treat their peers as equals.

While in middle school I went through the toughest period with friends and meeting people. I was teased and looked at differently for having a learning disorder! The only people I would feel safe around was my family. The good thing at the time was that my older sister attended middle school with me so I had someone to hangout with at lunch. Once my sister left it was just me finding places to hide and staying unnoticed! The name calling and hitting from other students while riding home was awful. I thank God for giving me the strength to look past it all and not react to any of the bullying. I now feel for children who go through the samething, it's not right and as young adults, and parents we should teach our children to do better. NO ONE DESERVES TO BE TREATED BAD!

Hey everyone, 

 

I'm an 27 year old woman, who everyday growing up was bullied, funny enough the kids in my school use to call me spock because of my short hair cut. One day, I decided to find out who spock was, so I went to my local library ( we didn't have google then) and found Mr. Spock played by the wonderful Leonard Nimoy. That day at the library, not only was I introduced to one of the greatest shows of all time, Star Trek, I made friends. 

I made friends that day all because of a group of individuals who called me a name. I'm still friends with those people today, and now when I see Leonard Nimoy on tv or an image of him, I grin and remember how he changed my life for the better. Now, I know I am from Canada, and most of you individuals had it rougher then me, and I am so sorry to hear that. Yet, things do get better. Just like that fish in that disney movie said, Just keep Swiming! 

I send all my love out to you!

- Amy 

Ps. you can email me aswell, if you want to have a chat.. I'm at [email protected]

Hey guys im Alexandra but my friends call me Alex. Im 14 gonna be 15 in April. I thought i was through with this drama once i hit ninth grade but it continued on and gotten worse. Lets start from the beginning in sixth grade, I was called worthless a skinny whore, ugly and u get the point. Well at first I was scared to tell anybody of it cause the bullies constantly threatened to beat me up till i was black and blue and in seventh grade it got a little better but i was still getting called names but they were a lot worse then sixth grade. In eighth grade i wasnt bullied until the second semester and i started cutting myself. Now im in ninth grade and everything was going great until this day. On April 14, which is my birthday, I got this text message saying "HAPPY BIRTHDAY OH WAIT ITS NOT HAPPY CAUSE UR STILL ALIVE!" I felt like a loser on my birthday I barely have friends and the friends i do get usually leave the next day or so. I just cant handle it anymore. I constantly think suicide is the answer.

Hey guys I'm Logan. I am sixteen turning seventeen in may. Im an average kid, I skate and hang out with friends. But I was constantly bullied for childhood mistakes that followed me. I was threatened that I was going to be killed by fellow classmates and pushed and flipped off and was told to kill myself I was doing the world a favor. For years I was told that. No one wanted to hangout with me, so I met a group of kids, named: Jason and Kris. Hana, not really a group huh? Well no one my age wanted to hangout with me at least. Jason is 11 now and Kris is almost 15. I always thought to myself how pathetic I am. Even my family made fun of me hanging out with these kids and so did kids at my school. That just made it worse. So one day I had my final straw, I decided it was time to end it once and for all. I told my goodbyes to my family making sure I don't raise any suspicion. And I had my pills and they were almost in my mouth and my mom called. She begged me not to do it. My cousin somehow new I was planning it and they saved me. I switched to a private school dumping my whole life savings of like 10,000 dollars into it just to not get bullied anymore. I still get it all the time from my neighbors but im learning to accept the fact its never going to change. I love all of you guys and remember to stay strong and if you ever wanna talk my email is: [email protected]