http://www.blogtalkradio.com/debrahummingbird

I had a lot of problems at home growing up. When I was about 5, my parents divorced so I was a bit of the odd kid out. I never really got along with the girls in my school.. there were a few times they made me cry saying that I'm bossy and the like. I ended up running to my guidance counsellor crying... it may have solved the problem... but I no longer had many friends. I used to get picked on for odd things... once when I had pink eye, they told me I looked like the devil. When I was about 10 my dad told me I was moving to a different school... I cried... even though I was alone... I didn't want to stomach trying to be in a different place. When I finally moved to my new school, at first I was embraced with open arms... but around middle school it started to sink in that there were people I couldn't trust... The popular kids always used to pick on me and fake asking me out... I was kicked out of a table of girls because they wanted some other girl to sit there instead of me. I was alone for while sitting with another girl named Jen. I always felt bad for Jen because she was bullied a lot more than me. We sort of distanced as friends after awhile, but I had heard that her bullying got so bad that she had cans thrown at her head and she eventually dropped out. There was another girl named Katie who I always used to see around, hanging out by herself... I remember this now and remain a bit disappointed in myself for not working up the courage to just be friends with her. Although I'd never join in in the bullying, I would always be to shy to engage with people. As school went on, I went to join different types of organisations like the Marching Band and Theatre. It was in these programs that I had a lot of friends. I think school would've been a lot harder with out these organisations to help me out and for the most part, none of the people who bullied me were in them so I could easily avoid them. If I could go back, I would've helped more and I think after joining this project, I will. I want my future kids to grow up knowing that it's not okay to make someone else feel small in any way. School's hard enough. I'd also like them to keep an eye out for anyone who seems like they're getting left out... and to reach out to them and I want to do the same instead of hiding like I did throughout school.

I would like to tell you a little story about me, so that you can understand me and know me better personally, well it all started since I moved from my first elementary school, the first school I went to was all right, not much to really talk about there, but in grade 4, I moved to, I guess you can call it a school, I was put into a help class, just so i can finish my homework and so on, but before the end of grade 5, my parents noticed that my work was real good and thought that I should no longer be in the help class, but the teachers in that help class told my parents and me that I would never ever make it to college or not even a proper high school, to my parents and my face, can you imagine how that felt, having the people that are supposed to be helping people to get out and fallow everyone else to tell me that I will never be out.. but then with a lot of talking to them, I was taking out of that help class and was told that if I get high marks in grade 6 they will consider keeping me out for the rest of my elementary school, and guess what, i got real high marks, like A's and B's, so high that the principle considered firing the people who tried to hold me back, well I don’t really remember if that happened but with the marks i got he should have, sounds all well and good right.

Now the bad part... probably the part that really broke me back in the past... every single person in my classes laughed at me, well maybe 1 or 2 people didn't care but everyone else thought of me as a loser, now from what you heard so far, would you think of me like that, well I had to go through my hole elementary, high school, and even college life of hated, but there was one girl who i thought liked me, and i sort of liked her too a lot, like thought of her for 6 years, guess u can say she was my first crush, hugged me during grade 8 grad, a few times made fun of me with the others, but i tried to think that she was just fitting in, till high school, when she sort of hung out with the ... guess u can say the wrong people, and started to ignore me and stuff, sort of like she hoped that she wouldn't have to see me again, so I let her go, even though i still wanted to be with her, I had to make myself let go.

Now for my high school life, west hill, more like west hell, lied to, laughed at, hated, luckily my 2 best friends from my FIRST elementary school was there, but the damage was already done, i fell into deep depression, sure i would still try to make friends, would have very few moments of liking someone, but want to know what was always going through my head over my high school life, me in a dark room, in the middle surrounded by people laughing at me, and at times it would be silent and i would see one of them reaching out to me to take my hand and then when i try to fallow, i would get pushed back and laughed at, imagine having to go through that for years, i got so depressed I wasn’t sure what to do, and one teacher noticed what was going on, mostly cause my marks were sort of messed up, getting bad marks on stuff i would get real good on before and good on bad stuff, so they brought in a doc just to check up on me, few little tests, and they found out that, and i quote" your mind is in the superior level and you should be getting straight As " and my educational life stayed up from that point on, went to a real good college in a real difficult program, did good on it and so on, but i was still deeply depressed, did not know what to do, you can imagine how my social life was, pretty much dead, starting hurting myself every night, and yes still had her on my mind, killed me, until like the end of grade 10 I believe .. when for some reason, not really sure how, but I went on a chat site, called Gaiaonline, and started talking to people, and guess what, I got tons and tons of people telling me that i am a great guy and shocked about what was happening and so on, and from that point till college things were a little bit better, then in college, i took a computer course, not cause I wanted to, just cause I was always on it, and cause it pays well, and yes still depressed, so I met another girl, thinking that this time it will be different, and i really thought she liked me, she even said it a few times and guess what, she lied, used me for few exams and then stopped, it hurt, and plus the others didn't seem to care much, so at that time I thought I had to make a choice, my internet life, with tons of people who think i great, or hoping for others in college, guess you know what I chose, pushed people in college away, even when there was a assignment that was meant for 5 people, I did it myself and got a real high mark on it, highest in the class, alone.

Now for after college, right after I graduated, I started to really get depressed, almost like there was a part of me waiting to get out, and did, started to stress out, wasn't sure what i wanted to do, went to various places, thought of going to acting, pro wrestling, got a little training, online money making ( just one... didn't work out ), various other stuff, yes i do have a lot of skills :) ... so started taking anti-depressants, and now i am much better, got better fast actually but yea, now i have a girlfriend, her mom and sis also think i am cool :) and of course her too , and I reaching out to various anti bullying companies and so on to spread the word, I have been helping people online ever since i started getting positive replies online and plus i been through a hell of a lot as explained, so I know how it is.  The only thing in my life now that i am sort of ( not really ) upset about, is that I feel and know that i can do something really great, that i can really make a difference... but cant, but that little small thing is nothing compare to all that I have been through.

WelI, I guess my story dates back to the first grade...I can remember "mean girls" existing back then. I remember having my best friend Maureen, and a few others that I felt comfortable around. I was always a shy-er than not kid, but still approachable and seemingly normal on the outside. At home, I was being raised by my mom and grandparents, and never met my father. He wasn't a good man, and I grew up knowing that I was a product of that but would always be a good person. I remember a group of girls, that I'm pretty sure are still friends to this day and still somewhat the same. They thought they were better than the rest of the world, came from money, and somehow had the ability to find the tiniest flaw on people to be able to break them down. The catch 22 back in elementary school was that choosing to be friends with a physically disabled kid meant I would get picked on just as much for being friends with the kid who had none because be had no control over the lifeless legs he was born with. But I stood tall for the both of us and let it happen and didn't care about the fact that they didn't want to be friends with me. Skip forward a few grades and the kid who had a disability had failed a grade and I moved forward and didn't see him as much. I may have even slipped into the background more than I should have. At that point, I was friends with anyone I could be, the popular beautiful one everyone had a crush on that all the other girls thought was perfect but who really had hidden insecurities of her own, the jock who made fun of the rest, and my best friends, who were real friends. As we grew our bodies changed... I developed early which came with never ending comments about my bustyness, my facial structure resembled that of my mothers which meant a more prominent lower jaw line (but barely noticeable), and a tall thin body. What may not sound bad, came with comments about my chest, my "long neck", and the nic name that haunted me into my twenties--"BULLDOG". I swear, I look back and would have been happier with any other name in the book than "bulldog". Things seemed to mellow out a bit approaching high school. I was terrified of high school, I thought I would be shoved into a locker and picked on for simply being the youngest or lowest on the totem pole. Just a week into the ninth grade and a girl I was friends with and I had gotten into an argument. Looking back I really don't remember what it was over but I don't think it's relevant or was back then. Somehow, friends turned on me, and people I had no clue about were turning on me. I couldn't walk down the hallway or take the bus or go into the cafeteria without being bullied. They would yell "EW!" And "BULLDOG" and laugh at me for no reason. I couldn't handle it anymore, here I was three weeks into high school and I couldn't handle it. They had written the infamous nic name on my locker in marker and I was scared to take the bus. My mom caught on and asked what was wrong and I broke down and told her. The next day we went to the school to talk to the vice principal who asked if we wanted the cops involved and we said no because it would just make matters worse. I changed schools the next week. The VP ended up calling the cops which ultimately sent a couple people into a frenzy which is never what I wanted. I started at my new school with a different attitude; I was undoubtedly angry deep down and promised myself to always stand up for people and never base my friendships on status or appearance. I'm only human and I'm sure I've made mistakes and have judged and I am sorry for that. The nic name continued throughout high school I remember being told I was the "girl with the hot body but had an underbite" (and I didn't even have an underbite). I remember the popular guys wouldn't pay attention to me at school but would go home and ask me to go on webcam on msn. I always had a strong attitude and personality from that point on. When I was 17, one of the "ring-leaders" who had picked on me was killed in a tragic accident and I remember being heartbroken for her even though at one point all I felt was hate. I stared at the sky that day feeling guilty and kept apologizing. But for what? Skip forward a couple more years. High school was over. And the girl I originally argued with 5 years prior, also passed away. How could this happen? Life was too short. That same year I had the opportunity to have braces and jaw surgery to correct the flaw everyone felt the need to pick out over the years and I did it. I look back and think..."did I do it for me? Or them?" I don't really know. But I did it, and I've been happy with it, but people have still used the nic name since. The point is...You are who you are, you're beautiful even if people are so bored and so insecure with themselves that they'll stare at you long enough to find the difference between them and you. No two people are alike, we were meant to be different and life is too short to spend it making fun of or knocking down others. I will always stand up for people who don't realize they can or are too scared to. You don't have to bully back but have every right to be mature and be real with those who can't yet see reality. I'm now 24 years old, know myself, my beauty and my flaws, got an education, started a career, and know that I am who I am and it doesn't matter if others don't like it. Nobody was put on this earth to form into what everyone else wants them to be. We'll get there one day, but it takes everyone... Woof ;) 

I used to get bullied. It was mostly, throughout my elementary and middle school days. As a sophomore now, the name calling and all the words contributing to 'putting me down' still stay with me, but I have become stronger, bolder, and have learned so much these past years. I found myself. I've learned to love my appearance, my body, and my hair. My confidence has skyrocketed and I have become bolder with a majority of my choices. Giving credit where it's due, I'm thankful for my family and definitely my friends. I don't know what I would do without them!! Xx

I have been bullied ever since I started school. I never really was physically bullied until when I was in the 1st grade, a boy who lived next door to me was on the bus and he was picking on me. I got I off the bus and was walking home and he took my back back from me and through it up in the tree, I was real tall for my age but I still couldn't reach the back pack he pushed me down and I went home and told my mom and she talked to his mother and he got in big trouble, put it this way he never hurt me again. From then until about the 5th or 6th grade I got picked on about my weight and my religion. I am a 6th generation Pentecostal girl who wears skirts every day and I don't cut my hair, and I always got called a bunch of names. When I was in Elemantary school it wasn't very bad, yes I got picked on but I had quite a few kids who stood up for me, but that is hardly around now after 11 or 12 years. When I finally got in middle school I was constantly in the principals office for trying to defend my self. They never really understood what it was like for someone to get picked on about the weight, and religion. Finally Jr. High rolled around and 7th grade was difficult because there was a mix of different kids from bullies to a bunch of rich kids. I never understood why people didn't like me, I always tried to be nice to people but they were always mean to me. I got through my first year of Jr. High when I finally got into the 8th grade I had to do P.E. and it is really hard for a Pentecostal girl to do it because we can't dress out the way they want you to, so I got picked on mostly in the 7th grade by troubled teenagers because I was different then them ( as I thought at the time by) I had one no contact contract signed for a girl. Finally when I got into my Freshman year I didn't get picked on as much, just for some dumb boys and things they say to girls. Now I just finished my sophomore year of high school and I have to say hardly anybody picks on me at all :) I prayed to Jesus that is what got me through everything :) I had lots of friends and yes they stood up for me a few times but I had to learn to deal with it on my own. Yes there is always going to be a mean kid there but that doesn't mean that we have to take what they say. My pet peeve has become bullying because I have been there before and I know what it is like. If you see someone getting bullied go tell someone, or in my case principals didn't care bring kindergarten through 9th grade so I just prayed for my self and for the bully and God changed the circumstance for me. If you are a bully your self STOP because you have no idea how much pain you are causing to someone. And if you say something that you don't mean and you feel bad about saying it and want to make it right apologize, you never know you could be that kid's next best friend :) for me God is what helped me :) I am against bullying and I will defend someone who is getting bullied. It will make a difference because you have know idea who it will impact or who will change because of it. You could change the school, your  county your region or state or even the world. Just be the voice and let who you really are shine through you. I am a Pentecostal girl who was bullied from kindergarten to 9th grade and I finally said I had enough and I speak up for people who have to go through it and who have fear and I just implant in them my story. For me it's let God shine through me, I am a servant and I will do everything I can to stand up for this movement because I believe in it :) It will change because prayer changes things :) I will support it for as long as I live :)

I never had a problem with bullying until high school. As a freshman i made the football team and was excited to start my highschool career. But, during the middle of the season, I was thrown to the locker room floor and punched and kicked. They left me there and my parents took me to the hospital. i had two broken ribs and some bruises. The players that did it were kicked off the team. However. because one of them was a star player, it became my fault whenever we lost a game. Still, three years later, the bullying continues. My car has been vandalized, I contantly get verbal abuse, and I fee truly can not wait to get out of this town.

When I was in 5th grade my mom moved to weymouth and i had to leave all my friends and go where I knew no one.  The second week of school i was sort of picked by the popular girls in my class. I felt very happy and proud that i was now "cool". Over the course of the year boys made fun of me because of my hair and my weight and it made me feel horrible. But i didnt say anything because i didnt want them to think I cared what they thought of me. The next year I decided that was going to change. Because of puberty, ew, i had a growth spurt and lost alot of weight and also began to style my hair. That year went by very easy without any bullys. But there are still mean people and, because of the internet, alot of ways to make fun of people without saying anything to their face. In seventh grade I created an ask.fm which was not a very good idea. Instead of funny, sillly, or intresting questions people asked me, anonymously, very rude and hurtful things that weren't even questions. I deleted most of them but at one point it all just got to me. I anwsered them and instead of making me feel good for letting it out, i felt worse. I went to school feeling worried about my appearance, and then got home, looked at all the mean questions, and cried till my parents came home. Finally I decided it was best to delete the account and the link on my instagram. I started to forget about what people thought of me and now I really dont care! Im happy that i deleted the account and got away from it all. 

Ever since my years in Elementary school I've been picked on by people, or what they thought was picking on me. Although I am not gay, being that I have different interests than most males have and I had a lot of female friends I was always labeled "Gay". For YEARS and I mean YEARS (7+) I've been called Gay, Faggot, Homo etc. For my race (Black) I've been called the N word multiple times as well. I'm here to tell EVERYBODY that you CANNOT let words break you. After years and years of ridicule and being emotional, I finally stopped and told myself no more. If you let people take a hold of your mind mentally then physically, emotionally and spiritually you will fall apart. If the words they say are not true, they can't old power over you. "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me" is false, words can hurt like shit but you can't let them. To this day I stick up for myself and others if I hear something that isn't right. I can't stand the sight or thought of a bully. Take a stand for yourself whether it be verbally (speak out against the bully or bullies) or physically (fight back if they touch you.) I'm here to support anybody who needs a voice.

I have been bullied since I was about 8 for various reasons, and some of it came from mean people but this year my best friend was my biggest bully. I couldn't believe she was treating me that way. I don't understand the need to make others feel like they need to die to get some peace. I have tried 3 times to commit, and I have "battle scars" if you know what I mean. I found someone to talk to. His name is Steve Bolger and I love him with all my heart. He is one of my best friends and always helps me when I need it, he will never turn his back on me. Please find your Steve, find someone who is your best friend as well as a compassionate listener. Stay strong <3