Throughout my junior high and high school, I was bullied on almost a daily basis.  I thought I fit in, I was on the soccer team and thought I had friends.  But there were several girls and guys that would find ways to embarrass me and bully me.  I was told I was ugly, called a "butterface", whore, slut, big nose, all terrible words that a young girl really gets affected by.  I would go home feeling lost, confused, hurt and lonely.  I felt like no one understood how I felt and I was SO embarrassed to admit that I was being bullied and felt that way! Girls were mean and spiteful, taking my books from my locker and throwing my textbooks into the garbage.  I graduated high school and even though all those terrible things had happened, I never spoke about them or admitted them.  Now, at 24 years old, I am still bullied, except this time on social media.  I have been called horse face and that I look like a man from people who have created anonymous pages and commented my pictures.  I decided enough is enough.  I have ignored the hurtful comments and I know I can move past it, however I know that so many other people are being affected everyday.  So I am here to start my bullyproject so that people who feel lost, confused, hurt, and lonely can have inspiration and motivation to cope with the abuse and become confident and happy individuals.  I want to motivate people to live a positive life, and to reach out to those in need of help. 

I grew up just like a normal girl (with a few minor exceptions)  When I was in second grade I started going to a private school and went there until 8th grade.  Everyone grew up together, community was a big thing in our school.  Always being nice, being together as 1.  As we got older though, we started breaking off into our own groups.  My best friend and I got branded as outcasts by the time that we were in seventh grade.  She liked to listen to heavy metal and wear black clothes, she was pretty much completely goth by the end of seventh grade.  I love her like a sister, even though she's one of the meanest people I've ever met.  I spent a lot of time with her through the years, and her style started to rub off on me.  Rock music, alternative pop, ripped skinny jeans, and doing my hair so that it covered most of my face became the normal thing for me.  I didn't think I looked that bad, I thought it was actually kinda cute.  But in a world of rich kids and Abercrombie it wasn't accepted.  I'm abnormally tall for my age and I had a different body shape than all the girls in my grade because I matured faster than they did.  I wasn't overweight, but in a world of needles, a girl with curves is essentially as rare as a unicorn and as different as a daisy in a field of roses.  The main girl that caused my problems was named Gabby, she was the principles daughter and the school princess.  The girls practically kissed the ground she walked and the boys would fawn over her, everyone loved her but nobody liked her.  She went out of her way to make me a social outcast.  She threw giant parties that I wasn't invited to, she told lies about me behind my back, and everyone always believed her so I had no idea how to disprove them.  Soon, all the boys got in on it.  I couldn't go a day without feeling less than nothing.  People in the grade even stopped calling me by my name, they reffered to me as some number, they dehumanized me.  It was terrible.  I got insanely depressed, and told my best friend that I was thinking about suicide, and I started cutting myself.  Of course, my guidance councilor found out which just made matters worse.  But it got me and my best friend a lot closer, which seemed to make matters worse.  People decided that we were lesbian, even though I am clearly not, and they thought I was dating a boy in our grade (which of course they made fun of me for)  Seventh grade was hell for me.  But that summer Gabby moved away, and people have started to be nicer to me, but Gabby's two best friends are in control now and of course the boys fawn over them.  But it's getting better and people are being nicer, its still terrible, but I'm finally beginning to love myself for who I am, but it's the hardest thing I've ever done.

When you watch someone get bullied and you do nothing about it you are just as bad as the bully.  I have been the bystander before.  You feel like crap later when you realize , ' Hey I should have done this and I could have helped stop bullying.'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2h5LZ4Xm4c    The link attached shows some of my story.  I have been a victim of bullying since kindergarten, in one form or another.  In kindergarten I was groped by a boy, repeatedly, but when we reported it, my parents were told that there was nothing that could be done because an adult, or staff member, did not see it take place.  In fifth grade, my glasses were taken from my face and stepped on and twisted.  Again, the story was, because an adult or staff member did not see it, there was no proof.  I have been called fat, ugly, worthless, to just name a few of the ugly words thrown at me. 

The tip of the iceberg was last year, in 8th grade.  Our school has I-pads that are issued to all of the students.  A couple of boys took one of my Facebook photos and drew penises all over it, using the school issued I-pads.  Then these boys made the decision to show it around the school.  I told a teacher that I respected and trusted about it, but the response she gave me was that it was a public photo since I posted it on Facebook.  My parents stepped in, again, and called administration.  Administration agreed with my parents that this was against the policy of the school, and the issue was dealt with.  However, I was also talked to and made to feel that it was my fault, because if I am going to put myself on Facebook, I am asking for kids to do this to me.  I just couldn't handle being the one causing all of this.  So, I began hurting myself.  I took scissors and cut myself in places that my parents could  not see.  But, thankfully, they found out. 

I am now in counseling and trying to get things pulled together.  I truly feel that I have no self-esteem, and when people tell me good things about myself, I believe they are not true.  I am getting better, and know that with my friends and family I will get better.  I want to be able to help people stop bullying, and to do that, I must first help myself!

I haven't been bullied. But my husband was bullied all his life. He never had a safe place to go to. He was bullied at home, by his parents and siblings. His parents and sisters, treated him like dirt, and put him down and made him feel worthless. He was emotionally abused by them and it shows. His brother, well he did unthinkable things, and physically and emotionally abused him. Then, when he went to school he was bullied by peers. Finally, the bullying has stopped with his family, because he doesn't really have contact with them and when he does speak to them, he won't let them abuse him(emotionally or physically).

Now he's out of school and I thought his life would be better, but then he got a job and was bullied by his coworkers. I felt horrible, I felt like he was never going to get the life he deserved. That he was going to be miserable. Sometimes, I felt terrified. I've heard the stories, about people feeling like they can't take it anymore and they either harm themselves or others. I was so worried I would lose him forever one day. I could tell he wasn't as happy as he usually was. The hurt was written all over his face. He doesn't like to show his emotions or talk about what's happening, so for a while, I had no clue how bad it was for him at work.

Finally, after a year of him being bullied at work, we moved to a new state, because he couldn't take it anymore. He got a new job, and people are nice to him! We live close to my family, and far away from his. My family loves and adores him. They tell him all the time, how smart he is and how proud of him they are. I am so thankful for my parents, for all the love they have given him. He is finally happy, and knows that he is loved, and that nothing is wrong with him.

 I want people to know, it's hard to go through, but one day it will get better. My husband has a better life, he's married, and loved by my family. It does get better, even when you feel like it won't. You just have to wait and hold on. I think, if my husband could deal with bullying and abuse for 23 years, anyone can make it. I'm so glad he never ended his life over it, because I can't imagine my life without him.

I'm amazed with all he had to endure, and the fact that he can still laugh and be as happy as he is.

I hope his story can help someone out there, because I can't stand to think other people have to go through what my husband Marco had to go through and worse. No one deserves that.

Thanks for taking the time to read my story!

Love,

Rebecca

I just turned 30, and was diagnosed as having post-traumatic stress disorder.  I watched as my father died of a heart attack in our family car as my mom screamed helplessly, but what contributes to this diagnosis even more is my experience of bullying and cliques in school.

I was luckier than most in that I was always very assertive.  I would go head to head with bullies, so bullying didn't last long.  What did scar my psyche was the many times that I was pushed in and out of cliques/friend groups.  To have such intimacy with people, and then to lose it so suddenly and without cause is extremely confusing and hurtful - hurtful being an understatement.

It was difficult at the time, and the pain is less now, but I have had to slowly build trust in people again.  I still battle with trusting family, friends, and colleagues, because I have this apparently ingrained understanding that a relationship can change on a dime.  It is very unsettling.  Instability is a scary thing.

As far as bullying, kids are little shits sometimes.  Be assertive.  Stand up for those who are being bullied.  I can look back proud that I at least did that.  Though, there were instances where I bullied, and I regret those instances more than anything.  I hate knowing that I have caused anyone unnecessary pain, or made their life any harder than it had to be.

What kids don't understand is that life is hard enough - you don't need to add to it.  

Kids will tease or bully about anything.  I was certainly teased for my weight (that's a  time-old classic).  I was once even teased for having a dead father (the guy was a complete idiot, and I said "Really, you are teasing me because my father died" loud enough for everyone to hear, and that ended that).  I was teased for being a "goth," and the guy later ended up a friend.

Know that you don't have to fit in.  The majority of the people in this world are idiots - bleating sheep who need to glom together and follow a leader.  Don't be afraid to be yourself, stand up for what you believe in, and break away from the herd.  In the end, that will be what defines you and makes you who you are.  You won't regret standing up for the kid being bullied.  You will regret bullying.  

To anyone out there who is being bullied, please stick it out.  Life WILL get better.  You will eventually find your place.  I promise.

I've been bullied since first grade. I had no control over my emotions, I am dyslexic, I can't spell, and I've never been the prettiest or the most popular. I was, am, and most likely always will be an easy target for the bully's. I've always had a hard time making friends because of my shyness witch made it even harder because no one would stand up for me. even when I had a few friends they wouldn't stand up for me. No one ever noticed that I was being bullied and the teachers would ignore me. now its not as bad bu I still feel like everyone looks down on me and my friends don't really like me. What those bull's said to me will always stick with me because if they say something enough times it has to be true... right?

I feel that throughout all my life I've been used, hated, and pushed away from. It all starts from when I was finishing the second grade. After I finished the approximate amount of days and meet all the requirements the School Board saw my medical records and discovered my disability. This disability I'm talking about is barely and I mean barely noticeable, my nerves are just a bit farther away than the normal person's is and in result I react to questions to the smallest fraction of a second late, it's not ADHD or anything like that heck I don't even know what it is and I'm 17. But anyway the School Board choose to place me in the Special Ed class and held me back a year. Let me tell you right now that I didn't even know I was held back until I saw my old friends in the 3rd grade class. So I not only got embarrassed by the school board I still didn't even prove myself that I was smarter than the Special Ed kids. They were nice and all but still my friends were getting a higher education while I was still learning the basics of the basics. It really hurt me to see them go to middle school in the 5th grade and I was really sad the rest of my grade school years. I was able to make new friends but they couldn't replace the original friends. Not only that I never really had much friends over after my grade school days. Probably because I live in a part of my town where no one really hangs out. It might seem like a minuscule concept but over the years I've grown apart from society and became kind of a sociopath, not that I hate society and people, I'm just not a social person and I resent things like parties and concerts. Over the years my parents found a drug that makes me react normal, its called Focalin or at least some form of it and I can't imagine another day without it. I'll admit there were days which I forgot it and was devastated but I still ventured through the day. When I started middle school I learned how it really feels to be bullied by all. When I day "bullied" I don't mean "I'll see you after class and beat you and throw you in the dumpster or locker" no I mean verbal bullying. I was condescended for my name being bisexual (I'm not going to make my identity public for privacy reasons unless I really need to) and I was called names and my personal favorite framed for throwing an airsoft bebe at the back of a P.E. teacher in result the whole class had to run a lap and pick on me. So I became less likable and sociable than I already was. My family then transferred me to another middle school where I gain a little popularity, until there was this rumor. The rumor was that I wrote a "death list" of the people who bullied me. This really stuck with me to this day but luckily people don't mention it anymore, but it still left a mark that can't be healed. I was still able to make new friends at least. I just want to say right now that in middle school I was smart when it came to academics. I always got an A and a GPA of at least 3.8-4.0. But then came high school. Now in high school, today I'm a Junior/11 grader, I still earn good grades just not as high as what I had in middle school, it's like a 3.5 or 3.6, but that's beside the point. I just want to say that the "leader" of my group of friends is a complete smart ***, and I mean smart. I'm talking about all A.P. classes with either an A or an A- smart. Soon he started to condescend me for who I am, not regarding my disability, he doesn't really know or acknowledge that, I'm talking about my religion, Judaism, my opinions, and that fact that I don't really have any friends at the same table where I eat lunch with them. He tells me "Shut up" in the most condescending way you can think of he also tells me that no one cares about my opinions or about what I think. So I did what he told me and I only talk to the people who I believe are still my friends whenever it's necessary. It really hurts to see people to condescend you succeed so well and not have any enemies but a victim which is you, and it's even worse when you can't take the same classes as they are because your career councilor said to wait until your senior year. Necessary in this case is when they ask me a question, which is now extremely rare. But all of that is just the beginning. At home I have a sister who is the epitome of evil. She always mocks me, tries to threaten me, and she even resorts to physical violence and even steals my lunch before anyone notices, but the worst part is that she is getting through school only because my parents allow her to study for upcoming tests that I took and compare my previous year's work to hers. As for my parents my mother is a depressed figure who takes her anger out on me because I'm the only one who's not domestically abusive. To add insult to injury she mocks me and my grades and won't and the next day she says that she never insulted me. The real reason why my mother is depressed is my sister calls her fat and lazy and my father always sides with her. My father means well it's just that he is always at work, I don't have a problem with him being at work for long hours I mean if he's making money go for it, I won't resent that. I do resent that the majority of the time he is one sided I do speak up when my mother asks and he believes me. The problem is that now I am utterly alone and have nothing but the true feeling of depression and have thoughts of suicide every hour on the hour. I never knew the true meaning of love because I don't have a girlfriend nor did I ever and I doubt that anyone girl would want me as a boyfriend, and I would probably be the reason why we end the relationship because I'm not as social as a normal person should be; besides I also doubt that anyone out there will consider my issues. So on a daily basis I go through classes, clubs that I didn't want to do, condescending colleagues and an unhealthy domestic life. I am running out of ways to vent my frustrations and reading other people's stories and telling myself that if I kill myself I will miss out on upcoming things such as college and technology and so on and so fourth is starting to lose its edge. Please help. Here's what happened next: EP Link

Living in the Shadows

A BULLYING STORY:  

Bring some light into some one's world and you might just safe a life!

Bring some light into some one's world and you might just safe a life!

Statistics show ~>75% of students are VICTIMS of cyber bullies. These bullies are very REAL and so is the terrible IMPACT on our CHILDREN. Once confined to whispers and giggles in the hallway, now bullies throw hurtful "WORDS," photos and RUMORS into cyberspace for ANY ONE to see and share. The magnitude of the humiliation causes children to withdraw from LIFE and SCHOOL. Some even resort to suicide or revenge! From texting to sexting, ONLINE POSTS to unflattering PHOTOS, more and more of our CHILDREN are getting HURT during the years when “WHAT OTHERS THINK” seems to be “the MOST IMPORTANT thing in the whole WORLD!” Learn how to protect our CHILDREN from cyber bullies (A Florida Public school Announcement)

I BELIEVE most parents are NOT aware of this until so much damage already has been done and in MANY cases till it's to late. Most kids don't realize the impact and harm they can do in someone's life by bullying them. Imagine living with the GUILT the rest of your life, because someone committed suicide and you were part of making their life so miserable that they decided it was better to NOT live than live a life being bullied? No one deserves to live with this type guilt the rest of their life!

Why am I so passionate about this? As a child I was the one every one picked on. In my young head I was thinking, I must be different, I felt like I was the ugly duckling, it was my reality and I hated it!

 I was very shy, very white, in fact much lighter skin than most kids, and now as I look back I realize I was a victim of discrimination, I was a different color than most, not to mention, taller than most kids and very skinny. And to make matters worse, my Dad had songs on the radio that the Society was not ready for. Everyone knew my Dad and I just could not hide. As a friend once said, I could not hide because both my Mom and Dad where well known. My Mom put me in Karate classes to make me tougher, so she thought she could help me. Little did she know what there were many more issues going on in my little head that just a soft sensitive sweet little girl!

The impact of being bullied had on me was devastating and it took an unbelievable many long years to heal from the hurt. I was the shyest girl I ever met. At some point in my life I believed God was punishing me for some horrible thing I must have done. But later on ...THANK GOD, at a very young age I realized there was another World, in fact TWO WORLDS! The Spiritual World and the other World.. The Spiritual World, that was already there and I embraced it from then on. A friend told me I said in Kindergarten I told them I was moving to the United States. I don't remember saying that but was it perhaps a vision of the future?  Who knows. When I was 12, I started taking some serious actions and started getting in touch with the World and had pen pals from everywhere. And so I decided to move to the bigger World and left the Island (where perhaps the mentally for some only grew as far as the Island itself) to explore the World. I moved to the GREAT BIG USA when all odds were against me. I had a plan and I was going to make it work no matter what or how. I just had to escape the bullying and suicide was for sure not an option, I loved my parents to much and of course my life. And knew there was another life and many more options that one have.

 My parents did not know but it worked. On a trip to the BIG US of A, while I was helping my Mom getting my brother in a boarding school, I asked my Dad, "if the school accepts me, would you let me stay?" Of course he did not believe they would say yes, but they did, so I stayed on a tourist visa. Yes!!! I immediately got a scholarship from the Aruba Government. Then the odds were against me again when I tried to change my status from tourist visa to student visa. The US immigration said I must go back to Aruba to apply for a student visa and could not change my status here. I cried and cried till a college friend came to the rescue. He told his parents and they knew a senator, a friend, and this great miracle happened.. I got my student visa and stayed! YES, perseverance does pay off! What a journey it has been since the first day I arrived in the Great Big USA. I married the the all American guy, lived the American Dream, until the hurricane called divorce and destroyed it all…  but that’s another story.

 Most importantly I believed a long time ago one can escape and be just fine. I thought if I escaped my bullies and moved away, started a new life, where no one knew. I would be fine and there would be no more hurt and pain, but was I so wrong. The pain, hurt, anxiety and shyness just moved with me. The only good thing was, the BULLIES did not move with me! Years later I've learned many bullies were mostly very insecure kids that did not and know how to deal with their own pain. Some have even been abused either physically or sexually. I remember my biggest bully, years later I found out he was beaten by his Dad and the Dad was an alcoholic. These kids take their pain out on other kids, and do not know how to cope or how to get help for their own sorrows. YES, perhaps it does feel better to release that pain, but take it out on someone else?.. is NOT the way!! In TODAY'S world, some bullies just do it, because it's the cool thing to do, perhaps many not realizing they are taking part of some bullying behaviors. YES, the way kids bully have changed a lot since I was little, but the DEVASTATION & HURT is still the same! Our society, families, friends need to step in everywhere and say, NO MORE lives will be lost, because of bullying. Don't let it be TO LATE ~~ I lived in the shadows of darkness and pain.

Perhaps you know someone living in the shadows take them out and show them there is light and there is another World, the OTHER TWO WORLDS or more if you choose.

 LOVE

ABC

It started when I was 9 years old there was this one girl who managed to get 25 people to gang up on me and hate me, it got so bad that when I was in year 5 I attempted suicide but got caught. Throughout high school I used to fake sick so I could go home because I couldn't be around people. Although I am now 16 and it hasn't stopped the repercussions of this has left me with severe depression and anxiety I now can't go or be around people at all. Over the past years I have progressively gotten worse, as I'm now going into year 12 I want to get my life started soon and go and do things but all my hope disappears in a matter of seconds within thinking of a goal for myself but the worst thing is these people have no idea what they have done they believe they were nice to me or it was just all one big joke.