When I was in grade school, I was a prime target for bullies because I was tall, lanky, and dorky (which I still am, but I am just an older dork). In grade school, a friend and I went so far as to make up our own super heroes (Commanders of Justice) who would take a stand against bullying and protect those who were less physically gifted. Jimmie and I were only friends for a short while until it was once again time to move on. My biological father (who suffered from alcoholism) could not keep a job and we moved from town to town or school to school every year. Constantly being the new kid took its’ toll on my self worth and self esteem. I had many bullying experiences throughout school, but in the summer between 4^th and 5^th grade, one trip to Target changed my outlook on bullies forever. I was walking from my apartment complex down to Target with 3 dollars in my pocket. It was a typical summer day, nice weather, a shady sidewalk alongside the well traveled streets and I was looking forward to spending my weeks' allowance. In the distance, a boy who I did not recognize was walking on the same sidewalk approaching me. I looked across the street to see if I could change sides and avoid any possible confrontation, but the sidewalk across the road had already ended a 1/4 mile back. I started sweating and my heart was racing. What could I do to get away? If I flee, it might motivate him to come after me. Running was out of the question, it was a straight shot of a half mile of open sidewalk with no places to hide. I had to walk toward him, there was no other option. The closer I got, I could tell that he was older than me and definitely outweighed my thin frame by at least 15 pounds. I started to move off the sidewalk and onto the grass when he was about 20 feet from me, but he sped up, quickly closed the gap and got right in my face. With a smirking grin, he asked me what I was doing and where I was going. I told him EVERYTHING. As far as I was concerned, there was no such thing as too much information. If I told him the chores I did to earn my allowance, what I was going to buy with it, and how much I was looking forward spending it, he might just let me go. His face was less than an inch from mine and I was terrified. He showed me his fist as if I forgot what one looked like and watched me squirm. His expression was full tilt tough guy face I thought I was going to get hit at any moment. He asked me if I had any money on me and I told him that I was going to Target with my $3.00 allowance to buy a Star Wars figure. He really had fun with that one. He asked what I would do if he decided to punch me and take my money away. Still dangerously close to my space, he hesitated and did the fake out where he raised his hand quickly to make me think I was going to get hit but then just scratched his head with a sinister smile. If his goal was to make me jump, it worked. At this point, I was crying and it was difficult to talk as the flood of my emotions came pouring out in tears. I was surprised at what happened next. After breaking down in front of him, his angry look was replaced by smirks and sneers. His proud posture with his chest puffed out only enhanced his achievement.  He told me to stop crying and to get out of there. At the time, I thought he let me go because he felt empathy for me, but of course that was not the reason. All he wanted was what all bullies wanted, a reaction to their intimidation and once he got that, it was time to move on and bully the next kid. I told myself that I would never again feel that afraid or powerless. I took precautions to ensure that I will never feel threatened ever again. Today, I am proud to be a part of the largest Charitable Professional Costuming Group in the world, the 501^st LEGION. This organization of Star Wars Fans reaches out to children across the globe to conquer terminal illnesses, bullying and yes we are among the most elite group of super dorks in the galaxy. I am a public speaker and I truly believe it is our obligation to reach out to those students who feel powerless and equip them with tools they need to succeed. Students: Remember that there is no one else like you in the world, you can never be replaced, and you can succeed!

Thank you for taking the time to read my story.

Chris Sutton

TaleswithaTwist.com

314-324-3451

ing is on the end of a lot of words. for me its they way i was bullied.  hi my name is Victoria and im 16. back when i was in seventh grade i said ing as a word in my speech and didnt notice it.  one day i heard 3 boys saying ing back and forth laughing. i honestly thought it was a dumb thing they were saying. 4 months later the whole grade was saying it and i still didnt figure out it was me they were bullying. one of my friends pointed asked why i didnt get mad when they said it an i was like why would i and he said there making fun of you. this really got to me 8th grade it was still going on but i lost that one friend  had.. i was alone completely alone. and i didnt even say ing in my speech anymore  freshman year all i heard in the halls and on my facebook was ing.  i cried everyday when i got home i didnt know what to do about it.. i attempted suicide... luckily my friend had messaged me saying how sorry she was for something she in back in 6th grade. she saved my life.  in 11th grade ing had finally went away. i still dont have many friends but im greatful for the 1 friend i have :)

I was bullied a couple of times during my Elementary / Jr. High years. I would get picked on mainly because of my small stature but alot of times people would just leave me alone. The real bullying problems didn't start until I moved back east from the west coast. I would be called racial slurs because of my dark skin and it got worse as time went by. I was / am dealing with mental and physical health problems while being verbally/mentally bullied. Around 1999 the bullying took a turn for the worse, I started getting death threats from people I didn't even know. They didn't know I was sick and dealing with mental illness (along with severe hyper/hypothyroidism, hashimoto's) and just kept on bombarding me with hateful words / death threats. Alot of it had to do with me not being white. These people basically ganged up on me and constantly treated me like dirt, like I was a foreigner in my own country (U.S.). It's been going on off and on since '99 and they keep telling me and other people that I'm going to die and even had someone yell out that I was going to get murdered. Yes, racism (form of bullying) is still very much alive in the US. I don't have any friends because of it mainly because I don't trust anyone anymore because I feel like I'm not good enough for these people and they've basically made it known to me. They have even made it to where I can't go anywhere without someone recognizing me. Even to the point of letting people out of state know that I was going there when I moved (that's how bad it has gotten). Yet no one seems to want to help me (including family). They just want me to ignore everything that's been said and done to me (including death threats, trying to make it seem like it's no big deal). Telling me to ignore it is like telling me it's ok for them to do it and I just have to put up with it even if they harm me. I've been through too much with health problems to be treated like this. I also have 2 kids and basically have lost everything that I had (family) because of the stress these people have caused that just made me sicker. I feel like I am in school again always watching my back. I'm afraid to go too far from where I'm staying because of the way people are here. I've lost my sense of freedom because of these people because what they're saying is I'm on death row for being sick and looking different. I really need somebody on my side for once instead of being the bad guy all the time. How can a sick person be the bad guy?.....

When i went to middle school i made friends with someone on my bus and everyday we would act silly and have fun doing it. We would be waiting for school to start and, since we were outside, we would be running around, screaming, and having a blast. That's when it all started. The kids would point out all the mistakes i made, even the teachers would yell at me for stuff everyone else did. They also tended to call me names. We moved and i thought it would be fun still, and it was. I found friends just as crazy and hyper as me and we always had fun, but the bullying didn't stop. There were a lot of points were my mind would go to dark places because of what they said. There was even a kid who told me no one cared about me and that no matter how many friends i had, i would always be stupid and useless. The teacher was by us at the time and the class wasn't that loud, so i know he heard, but he didn't care. There was a girl who annoyed even the teacher and kept it up for a whole semester, until i finally stood up for myself. I yelled and cursed at her and i didn't get in trouble because the teacher knew i had a good reason. We moved again and although it hasn't stopped, i stopped caring. They always say that once you ignore it, they stop. DON'T LISTEN! its not true, and i know it. My friends here and 10x's more crazy then me and i love them for it. we're the oddballs of a big high school and we love it. :)

I've been bullied variously ever since about fourth grade. I was able to handle the small amount of insults. Then I met my best friend (now ex best friend) in sixth grade. Well she became my best friend in sixth grade, i've known her since preschool. We would hang out all the time and do school projects together and sit together in every class. Over the summer we went to six flags all the time. Then in seventh grade we started in the beginning of the year still best friends. Over christmas break in 2012 something changed. She turned on me. When we came back in January she started teasing me and calling me all sorts of insults. She then convinced every friend I had in our class to turn on me too besides maybe two people. She would push me in the halls, try to trip me, and kick my seat in classes. She and her clique all call me names and talk about me behind my back. Shes not only mean to me, but she's mean to three or four other kids. On the last day of school she kept calling me fat and ugly. That's not how I expected my last day to go. I had to leave the seventh grade class party and went to the sixth grade one so i could be with my real friends. Over this past summer she's messaged my variously on facebook calling me queer because I listen to my favorite band One Direction. She made fun of the fact that I have frizzy hair and lastly she told me to go kill myself. This year (eighth grade) she has continued to ruin my life. She pushed me to the point where I wanted to kill myself. I couldn't do that to my parents so I took to cutting myself. I've almost completely gotten out of the habbit. I filed a bully report this year and the principal didn't really care he talked to me and told me that i should ignore it. Everyone says to ignore it but in reality you can't. So I am still dealing with this to this day. I do not know what to do anymore. I have no one left in my class to be friends with and this year we're going to DC and have to room with people. How am I going to room with this people? I just am trying to get through this by proving that what my bully says isn't true.

When he was born I was 4 years old, all I remember is hearing the docs telling my pregnant mother he would not live through the pregnancy, when he was born it was he would only live a few days, after a few days they said he wouldn't make it two, you see where this is going he is a survivor, and he is now 28. It was not an easy life for him from the second he came into the world he had his first set of surgeries, total in his life he has had now 36. He is 80 percent def in one ear and was completely def in the other because he was born with his ear closed it never fully formed. When he was 13 he had a surgery that complete cut his ear off, they took out 3 ribs and a skin graft and he now has what looks just like a normal ear and he heard my voice for the first time. The point of this part is a boy who was always estimated to not live is a miracle and still is every day I have him. He was bullied his whole life, people yelling at him because he couldn't hear him and they were adults, and kids were so very mean. Even to this day he is bullied. Awhile ago he was standing inline at a grocery store reading an auto magazine when the line moved he didn't hear them say anything behind him, the grown very large man was screaming you fucking retard why aren't you paying attention. He was so embarrassed and hurt he left the basket of groceries he was getting our Mom to make her a birthday cake. He came home beat red and wouldn't talk to us for hours, finally he told me what happened and he was crying. This is the story of his whole life. Being the older sister if any kids messed with him they messed with me I was his protector and all through high school I protected him. I cant be their all the time as much as I try. Now he has scoliosis and we really do not know how much longer we have left with my best friend and brother. Why cant people see him the way I do I will never understand, but that is why I completely believe in your cause and understand. I have an eight year old daughter and I am scared out of mind of her being bullied and even worse her being a bully. I have told her how people are with uncle Christopher, I hope she understands what its like to bully someone that someone else loves so much. I hope this reaches kids all over the world because I know our youth is what can make the difference. Thanks for reading my story, my heart hurts for families who have had to go through this with their own children and my prayers are with the families who have lost their children because they felt the hate that bullies bring and have lost their lives.

I had always done well in school, but I was around 8 years old when I had to get glasses and I recall the bullying starting. It started with simple "four-eyes" jokes, which didn't bother me much, but continuously progressed. My classmates would try to get a rise out of me by doing multiple things, some-times it was name calling, sometimes it was taking my stuff, sometimes it was just teasing me about anything I showed weakness to. I didn't know how to react, I tried to be defiant, fighting against their behavior, using stinging replies and aggressive behavior, but it didn't stop the bullying. As I got older, I experienced worse bullying, not in intensity, but in intent. Other girls would pretend to be friendly with me to get embarrassing information out of me, then publicly shame me. I felt divided from my peers, like I couldn't trust any of them, but I started finding my own friend group. A group of people who were slightly outcast like me, who got teased for doing well on their tests and enjoyed reading fantasy books and playing Magic: The Gathering. 

The personal attacks from others still stung, but it helped knowing I had a group of friends. In middle school, this group went to a different school than I did and I found myself alone again. The bullying became more passive-aggressive and hidden, everything was said behind my back because I often was confrontational when I was bullied directly. Water was poured in my sports locker and girls snickered at me and tried to get me in trouble by blocking my entrance to classrooms so I would be late. I played strong, but it wrecked havoc on my emotions, I was terribly depressed and couldn't decide if I hated them or myself more. I found a few friends in band who were geeky and silly and supportive. I didn't talk to them about the bullying, but it was nice to have some people who were friendly to me. 

When I got into high school, though, everything started changing. I wasn't teased for my good grades, I was appraised for them. The people who has teased me before came to respect me, they grew out of their meanness. I realized that I was still very different, but in a way that I liked and that people liked me for. When I was younger, peers teased me for not conforming to their ideals and interests, but they respected me for having different ones as I became older. 

The older I have grown, the more people I have found with interests like me who have become my very good friends. Many of them were teased and bullied when they were younger, but now they do not suffer from any of that and enjoy their lives fully. My self image has improved immensely, I have grown to love myself and I know that everyone can. It will be hard and people will be harsh, they will spew awful words, but often some pain, misunderstanding or fright of their own is behind them. It can be hard to tolerate, but it does get better. You will find amazing friends who embrace you and your interests and only expect you to be who you are and not want you to act like anyone other than yourself.

I'm 23 years old now and a proud, young woman. People still will occasionally say mean things, but it is so few and far between that it is hard not to laugh at their immaturity and I never find myself concerned with their words. Look for friends who will support you, but don't be concerned if they are hard to find at first. You'll discover each other with time and things will get better. 

When I was growing up i was always the weird kid I was to never good at sports although I was very big for my age. No one ever wanted to sit by me at the lunch table and i was always picked last for everything. When I turned 10 I came out to my family as gay and that opened up something i really didn't want to open. My big brothers disowned me because they said my mom didn't have any girls so they know I wasn't one of there brothers. My mom thought i was going through a phase and my grandmother cried and told me she had went wrong with me somewhere. When I started middle school I think I had some kind of curse because I was always getting beat up by the upper clansmen and being called fags homos and some other stuff that I don't want to repeat. i went home and everything resumed with my family hatred. I had no one to turn to at all I was just a huge target not only for my peers but for my family also. I survived because of one teacher who helped me get into a LGBTQ program and I found out that there was a light at the end of the tunnel. Now I want to devote my time to helping others but i don't know how i can do that with no money but I will try

When I started my public school, back in kindergarten.  School was unbearable; every day I had a sign saying, “beat me.” Lunch and recess were the worst parts of the day.  During lunch I'd have my lunch in my face (but not on a daily basis thank god) and at recess I was thrown off the slide. Most of that changed  when I found a group of friends at a new school that were like me and if someone messed with one of us they would have to face all of us. 

I was and have always been way too concerned about what people thought of me. After experiencing bullying at a harsh degree, I conformed against my nature into someone people wanted me to be versus who I truly was inside. I did not begin to re-discover who I truly was inside until well into my adult years. I just wanted to fit in and be accepted. Little did I realize that what people think of you actually DOES NOT MATTER in the long run. Being true to yourself, regardless of opposition is the only freedom I have ever found. I was always worried about the popular kids liking me, do any girls like me, are my clothes/shoes cool, is my car new enough, etc. If I had support to be myself and stand up to bullies that were against it, I would have discovered my TRUE self long ago. Stand together and fight back, bullies are the weakest people of us all! BE YOU!!!!