It began when I was in the 2nd grade. I lived in Texas at the time and my parents had just split up, We, My brother my dad and I, were doing fine until out of nowhere my dad finds himself engaged to this woman who has 7 kids. I met her daughters first and they immediately took a disliking to me; They called me names, told me that they were going to take my daddy for themselves and that their mom was going to take his money and get rid of my brother and I.

They married after my new little brother was born and I was sent to move in with my aunt, the night before she came to get me, I had taken a nap and when I woke up I found that all my hair had been cut to my chin and it had been down my back, I was in 5th grade.

It had been hard making friends when I started school that year, I had Out of date clothes and every one ''thought'' I was a boy, I didn't wear make up, I couldn't do anything with my hair because it was so short. They began to call me by guy pronouns, they thought I might have been A lesbian because I ''Looked the part.'' I would escape to the Library because They would spit in my food and throw things at me. One girl even threw her chocolate milk all over my new jacket. I always pretended to be sick, I wouldn't do my work, I would hide in the closet so that my grandmother wouldn't send me off.

I made another friend that year, Another victim of bullying. It was only because he had a large behind. he was so nice and Sweet, but eventually the bullying got so bad for him he had to move. And i was completely alone again, I was so happy for the school year to end.

In 6th grade I moved back in with my dad because I was labeled as an 'Emotional mess' By my aunts and grandma and they didn't want to deal with me. My hair began to touch my shoulders and I could now put pretty bows in it... But that didn't matter to anyone, we had to wear uniforms and my Step-mom,Who was now pregnant again, Kept buying my clothes from the boy's section. Everyone thought I was flat and they kept hiding my bras and deodorant. My first friend at that school, Whos name is zoey, was nice to me and treated me fairly. She lived right around the corner from me and I always found myself at her house. My step mom would keep me from going to her house  because she made me babysit her younger children, and her oldest daughters my older 'step sisters' would make me do things as well.

They told their friends that came over to stay away from me. They told their mom's friends that since I was a Harry Potter fan that I liked to ''Stay up all night practicing witchcraft. And would chant incantations to myself.'' Their friends would go to school and tell their other friends. I was called ''Freak,Vampire, Weirdo,Dyke.'' and rude things alike. I was shoved into lockers and dubbed ''goth'' because all my uniforms and school supplies would be black and gray. I tried telling dad but he ignored it and told me it was just phase. He would be proven wrong later on. on winter break when I was In the 7th grade we went to Missouri for Christmas because that's where my dad's wife was from. it was a long,Long ride that I didn't enjoy very much. It was different when I got there. Nobody liked me. Not the cousins or the aunts or uncles I sprained my ankle when they pushed me off of the trampoline. Her aunt thought it was the most hilarious thing they'd ever saw, Dad bought me a cheap brace and I had to crawl on the hardwood floor of their home. They would wake me up for breakfast and her other cousins drew on me when I was sleeping and they spray me with silly string My dad and the younger ones stayed in a hotel and I slept on the floor of the home.

7th grade was the highlight of things, It was 5 months after my newest baby brother was born,Zion. My step mom would party her butt off and not care we had to take care of the baby.Well I did anyway. One day one of my older step sisters, The oldest one. was feeding the baby and told me to clean up the formula she had spilled on the counter. by now the baby had been sleeping and she could do it herself. So I told her no. She got really angry and she dragged me to the kitchen to make me clean it up. The other kids came down and she had quite the audience. I cleaned up the mess and tried going upstairs to my room She pulled me back down the stairs by my ankle And I broke the railing when I grabbed onto it for support. She dragged me back upstairs and she told her brothers and sisters to tear my posters and pictures off my walls and to push my vanity to the floor. They started to rip pages out of my journals and I charged, They were bigger than me and I got pushed into a wall, which fractured my shoulder because I went through the wall. My dad came home with his wife from their shopping trip and I got lectured for causing problems I wasn't allowed to eat dinner with them that day and had to clean the whole kitchen by myself. I ran away that night. But dad found me and brought me back home. I found hope in tennis. I would go to the feild and play by myself by hitting the ball against the wall with a racket. My siblings found me and their mom would bring her kids to play,too. I remember when I was playing I heard my name being called And when I turned around I got smacked in the face with a tennis ball hit by one of my classmates, They dropped to the floor and rolled with laughter,And so did my stepmom. That summer I tried to run away again.I dropped out of that school year and went to live with me aunt, who again ''couldn't handle it'' and sent me to live with my alcoholic mother. I was never really in the house,But I was back in school where I found some old friends.  It's funny, I actually stood up for myself and others and 'Came out of the closet' I didnt mind what people were saying because I couldn't change that. But I never got picked on again and Daddy got a divorce. I didn't go back to live with him until my freshman year,This year,Because I knew i'd be just fine. I guessed.

I was in the 2nd grade in a small town. I rode the bus that picked up kids from elementary, middle, and high school. There was a high school girl that got off at my same bus stop and walked the same route home as me. I don't really know what inspired her to pick me as her target but she would talk bad about me, say mean things, poke at me, push me. I had an older brother so it didn't bother me at first but when I seen it was happening more and getting worse I told my older sister who was also in high school. She became upset and decided she would ride the bus to see what was happening. As usual the girl was calling me names and even tried to bully my sister once we got off the bus to walk home. My sister turned right around and confronted the bully and said "leave my sister alone do not touch her do not talk to her" in the most loud and stern voice. In this situation that worked. I always stood up for myself after that but I know that doesnt always work. You cant ever stop though. You have to always stand up for what is right, or what you believe in. I taught my own daughter never to be a bully or watch someone get bullied. I used tell her, what if someone who chooses to bully as a kid, ends up being in the hospital as an adult (for example) and their doctor or surgeon happens to be the person that was their victim. You dont know what the future will bring. Treat people as you want to be treated. My situation turned out ok but I do not accept bullying in my family or in my life period.

Ive been bullied practically my entire life. they bully me of the same thing all the time. This even happens now I'm now only in 7th grade. I cant walk around without having someone pretend to bump into me and say "Oh i'm so sorry gay boy i didnt see you there!".

Every single day i would have people laugh at me make fun of me and alot of other things. This has been happening since 4th grade. My parents have no knowledge of this happening till i told the school counselor about it. She said shed take care of it but all she did was tell my parents and the entire school which made it allot worst. 

About 1 month ago i had one of the worst days of my life everyone made fun of me physically they pinched me, pushed me etc. I then got on the bus after a horrid day of nightmares when i put in my headphones and shut the surrounding environment away from me, then someone started to push my head and kick my head and i kindly told her to stop it. She didnt stop i got so mad i stood up and shouted "STOP IT!" and then sat back down but everyone laughed even my own brother. my brother teased me for the rest of the trip until he threw his bag at me and i felt the need to throw something at him and in the rage of my anger i threw my cellphone. 

For weeks thats all people talked about. Then one day i got called in by the councilor. She told me to explain the entire thing, she seemed to care more about the phone then the bullying but then she said that everything that happened on the bus was my fault.

for the last few months after me throwing my phone ive been having mental breakdowns when someone back talks about me i just cry. Im now seeing  therapists that told the entire school im seeing her which makes more material for others to use against me. My teachers dont understand neither do my parents

All of my life i have been bullied for on reason or another. In school it was because i was fat or that my clothes werent in style. I grew up very poor and never had much. Many times i didnt want to go to school just so i wouldnt have to face ridicule. When i started to stand up for myself it was always me who got into the most trouble and not the instigaor. I thought about suicide daily. Even as an adult i have still been bullied about my weight issues. I am 26 now and a father of 3 of my own biological children and 3 step children. Now it is them that constantly are bullied. When we tell the schools they do nothing about it. There is always a meeting and they say they will stop it but the bulling continues. What i have learned and been able to pass onto my children is hope. The hope that through all the bullying that there will be those who will stand against the wrong. Who will go to battle for what is right. If it wasnt for the friends i made that are now considered so close they are like family i probably would have commited suicide years ago. I have started a petition to be sent to the United States Congress to stop bullying. I want there to be actual consequences not only to bullying students who prey on the weak but consequences for teachers principals counselors super intendents and everyone involved to be held accountable also. Its time that enough is enough. No more of our children need to go through this pain and no more of our children need to be taken from us because they couldnt take the abuse anymore. For too long us as a nation have sat back and let this problem escalate. Only we can stop this.

I was a 3rd grade girl. I don't know what was wrong with me. They teased me because I cared about education. They called me teachers pet. I had no idea why. Everybody but 2 people hated me. They were my true friends. We were the same. We did our homework, we payed attention in class, and we raised our hands. And we all got called brainiacs, nerds, and geeks for that...and the words hurt. one of my friends got put in the trash can, but We stuck together, and got through it together.

As long as I can remember people have made fun of me. Im 14. All through Elementary they called me fat , a geek , and would tell me I didnt fit in. They wouldnt let me hang out with them , they would laugh at me & throw things. I never told my parents about it. So It was sixth grade and everyone ignored me. They would give me dirty looks and talk about me like I didnt hear them. I was a loner. So 7th grade I changed my hair , my style , everything. I started to wear makeup. That would make them quit right? No. I was still fat and ugly to them. I remember coming home one day screaming at crying saying I wanted to die because of them. But I had to act like it didnt bother me. So now its 8th grade and ive been through a lot. Ive been told to kill myself , ive been called names and everything. Ive attempted to take my life 3 times. And I just recently stopped cutting. So I have permanent scars going up my arm. But after watching that movie it makes me think , it that what i want? Is to let them win? No. Im taking a stand. I Will make a change.

I am a mother of 3 beautiful children. Two of my children know firsthand what it is to be bullied. It tears my heart that they too have to endure this like I did. In the first grade my daughter was called ugly names by two girls who claimed to be her friends. Second grade comes around and it doesn’t get any easier for her. She got tormented because of her weight and because she was smart. She was always the last to get picked in PE. She would always come home crying asking me why didn’t anyone like her and why where people so mean. She doesn’t see herself as a beautiful smart person. All she sees is the negative things the kids tell here at school. Well now she is in the 3rd grade and things have gotten a little better for her. She now sticks up for herself and others in her class or anyone else she sees getting bullied. She even tries to help out her brother. Yet I still can’t get her self-esteem up to where it needs to be.
As for my son it started in the end of 3rd grade were his torment began. He was constantly being told that he was stupid and ugly. He pretty much just tried to ignore it and not let it bother him. In the 4th grade is where everything changed for him for the worse. He was called a fag, a bitch, stupid ass hole, and was constantly being pushed around. They made fun of his arms and legs saying that he looked like sash quash because he was hairy. He got hit in his private part and had rocks thrown at him. Now I had 2 kids coming home crying and not wanting to go back to school. I was constantly going to talk to the teachers and principle only to get thrown to the side.  It was the last week of school of his 4th grade year and when I went to go pick up my children I noticed my son crying. I already knew what it was about but I didn’t expect to hear what I heard. I asked my son what was wrong and he just shook his head no and told me “Mom I can’t take it anymore I’m tired of it all I just want to end my life”, my heart fell to the ground and I slammed on my breaks. I turned to look at him and was speechless. My daughter and I just held him and cried with him. I tried my best to console him but what do you say to take all the pain away. Once again I was in the principal’s office and got no results.  My son is now in the 5th grade and still is having issues with bulling. He goes to bed every night crying and wakes up crying because he doesn’t want to go to school. It can be 100 degrees outside and he will still refuse to wear a short sleeve shirt or shorts because he doesn’t want to get made fun of.
I can truly understand what my kids are going through. It was not easy for me since I was the short chunky kid with glasses in class. When will bulling stop? What has to happen? Why are we allowing bulling to continue? How many more kids do we have to lose for some major action to take place? When will the school take bulling serious? So many questions run through my mind, but I will not stay quiet. Something has got to give. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH........

Grades 1-5 were easy. I didn't get bullied then. In 6th grade we moved to a bigger school district where I knew no one. At the same time, I hit puberty, began to break out a TON. My voice changed and cracked (and I'm a girl). That was all they needed to systematically take me apart, word by word. I was a "dog." I was "ugly." One time I asked my crush in art class to quiet down so I could concentrate on my drawing and he asked me if I knew how many pimples I had. All the friends he was talking to laughed an ignored me. I was devastated. It was the first time he talked to me.

Even my dad would point out my pimples and tell me they were ugly and they were my fault, that it was something I was doing that caused them. Like I wanted to have acne. Like I wouldn't do anything in the world to get rid of it so my crush would notice me and people would leave me alone.

One kid in the hallway that I didn't even know can up to me barking like a dog, in my face, and then spit on my face, called me a dog, and walked away. His friends laughed. I told my teacher and they got in trouble. They did leave me alone, but it didn't solve my problems.

We had to move so I didn't go to that school anymore. In 7th grade I was ridiculed less, because I was back in my old school with my old friends. I was still made fun of, but it wasn't as bad as that. And because of that experience, I was standing up for kids when I saw them being bullied. And the bullies listened. They were visibly embarassed.

Bullies expect praise for their actions, and their friends are giving it to them. And when you're that age, your friends' approval is everything, even if what you're doing gets you in trouble with teachers. So if you don't praise bullying, it diminishes their reason for doing it. If people didn't support these kids, if their friends didn't think bullying was cool, they would find something else to do, I think.

8th grade got a little easier, and I started to make friends with all the kids that were bullied too. In high school I dated a football player and *everyone* left me alone. But since I'm a lesbian, that wasn't really the best solution for me, and I am sure it's not an option for many of you. It sucks that it had to be that way, that I had to join them to avoid being disgraced by my peers anymore.

Sometimes I feel, at 28 years old, that I'm still there. Sometimes I feel so small and so worthless that it's like I'm back in that hallway and the spit is flying. What breaks my heart is this: when I was 13, I have a vivid memory of sobbing in my room and staring at my wrists wondering what sharp object would hurt the least. This happened more than once. I never did anything to myself, thank god, but only because I'm squeamish and hate the sight of blood. But looking at my life now, with my beautiful partner in this beautiful city and all my beautiful (inside and out) friends and family, I am so glad of that fear of blood. It kept me on this earth. I would have missed all of this if I had let the bullies win and taken my young life. I would have missed all the best parts of my life that hadn't come yet.

I hope this story helps anyone feeling this way to change their mind. When you're a kid, you feel like a year is much longer than you do when you grow up. Those years will pass no matter what. Stay safe as you can, seek help as much as you can, call bullies OUT, every time, and if you think they will endanger your safety, and adults aren't listening, tell more adults until one does. Do not give up. DO NOT STAY QUIET.

Because my mom told me (and I didn't believe her either but it turned out true) that the popular kids are boring when they grow up, and the nerds and the geeks and the freaks? We all have super cool jobs and friends and live in cool places and do cool things because those kids, us freaks, we become the cool kids later in life. Later, when the jocks go bald and have kids too early and wives that hate them? The cool kids, the freaks they made fun of? We are RUNNING this place.

DO NOT GIVE THE BULLIES YOUR LIFE. It's not theirs. It's yours. Keep it. High school ends. You are not what they say you are. I promise.

Had grown up in some different schools (due to being in a military family and then due to my educational needs as a deaf student), I had encountered bullying from late elementary years to high school.  Some bullies, I knew. Some bullies, I didn't know.  You see, I grew up with some bullies; our parents thought we should be friends. Some parents couldn't (or didn't want to) accept that I didn't want to hang out with their kids, "you're overreacting- she's not mean. You misunderstand her."  Some bullies, I didn't know, they broke into my locker, stealing stuff. Shoving me aside during class changes.   Even with one broken leg and using crutches, one attempted to shove me down the stairs as if that wasn't enough!  All because I was and am an introvert, pretty much. I'd rather read than hang out with people (and who'd want to hang out with kids who'd pick on me?)

That was 30 years ago.   Recently, a person tried to befriend me on Facebook, and she was a bully I had dealt with in middle school for 3 years.   I accepted her reluctantly, but with small hope that perhaps I could get if not an apology, but acknowledgement of what she had done.     Unfortunately, that was not to happen.  

I realized then that only I can choose to move on.  I started advocating for bullying awareness, looking for red flags of bullies, and symptoms of bullying, especially that now that I'm a therapist.  I also learned that bullying can be one of many signs, including family violence and witnessing domestic violence. So I'm also an advocate for victims/survivors of domestic violence.  

I live in a rural community in Nevada called Gardnerville. I was bullied throughout elementary school by select people, but had hope for middle and high school. My seventh and eighth grade years were fine, but when ninth grade began, I was wrong about being accepted. 

I was confused about myself. I liked different things than most people my age, and tended to get along better with the teachers than the students themselves. It wasn't long until I had absolutely no friends. Not even one. I was put down a lot... Called a "snobby bitch", because I decided that my education was important. I had been known as a "brown nosed, teacher's pet" because I was smart and knew answers. 

Unfortunately, I was insecure about myself because I had been called fat over the years. I had grown breasts so I wore clothing to show them off because it was the only attribute of myself I actually liked. I got attention from boys, and that made me feel good. 

The teachers, however, did not understand and only one had ever tried to talk to me about it. Instead of speaking with me to understand, most of my teachers called me out in front of my classes. I was escorted to the office in front of an entire class because I told the teacher when she asked me that my mom was okay with how I dressed. Another teacher, (and this one I'll carry to the grave), had a male friend or colleague come into our class. In front of the entire class, she announced that the man had said my shirt was too low.. I was so embarrassed, and I didn't know what to say. She went on to say that I "needed to put those away, no one wants to see them, etc.". I of course cried and asked to be sent home.

When I told the administration about what happened, they didn't believe me. I felt completely helpless. My mother of course believed me, and tried to argue with the principal, but to no avail. To them, I was lying and there was no use talking to the teacher about what had happened. 

I missed more and more school after that. My absences were so high that I almost got held back. Luckily, one of the administrators that had known me and liked me gave me a break-after all, I didn't have bad grades. 

Seven years later. I have learned so much from these experiences. Not all teachers are a solution, but a problem. Kids can be so mean and for no reason at all except they need to feel better about themselves. It can take years to recover from even one time of being bullied. It hurts, and sometimes it feels like you will never get better, but it does. I immersed myself in my studies. I am in my second year of college to become a teacher. I already know that bullying will have absolutely no place in my classroom or even on my watch. I know now that I was only singled out because I was different...Which I've found is not a bad thing to be. 

My words of encouragement to those who are suffering now: Just be yourself. You will one day find people like you that didn't grow up with the narrow minds around you. When you feel like you're stuck, read a book, listen to music, go for a walk. You will feel better. Tell someone you trust. Be it your parents, your friends, teachers, anyone! Someone will be there to understand. But most of all, don't change to appease the bullies. Be yourself for the beautiful person you are, inside and out. No matter what they say, you are incredible. Thank you.