I was a victim of bullying. It started in elementary school when other girls in my class (friends, mind you) decided to come up with a club. The "Non-like Nina Club". Not one to stand up for myself, it took my big sister to put them all in their place. I got through that no problem. But then came middle school. Being shy and quiet and very insecure, I was a perfect target to get picked on. Back then there was usually one person that acted as the ring leader, and then all the followers. I was made fun of for several things. Mainly the way I looked. I had a larger nose and due to white staining on my teeth from harsh antibiotics as a baby, my teeth appeared to be on the yellower side. I was give the nicknames "Rat" and "Cheeser". Rat, because they thought I looked like a rat, and Cheeser because of my teeth. I hated myself. I thought I was ugly, everyone loved my sister, and being the straight A scholar and extrovert, I was shoved into her shadow by all friends and teachers. I used to write "I hate myself" over and over and over on notepads. I didn't understand why me? Why was I the targe? I was shy, but I was a very nice person. Soon even my "friends" began to call me by those nicknames. By 8th grade I got my first boyfriend. The boy that lived across the street thattwt a different school. Of course that becane the new joke. People asked me how much I paid him to go out with me, and a "friend" even brought  pictr o my dog on the bus and passed it around telling everyone it wasa picture of my boyfriend. One of the bulliestried to give me a "makeover" one day since I nevewr wore make up. I thought she was trying to be nice to me, only to leave the cass and walk through the halls and having others laugh and point. Yet another butt of a joke. I ran to the bathroom and washed my face off, I couldn't get their fast enough. I got to change schools fo 9th grade, and had a chance to start over. Being a year behiond my sister, I tried to follow in her footsteps in high school. I figured since everyone liked her so much, maybe I should try to be like her. High School wasn't much easier. This time my main bully was my Drama teacher. My sister was the star and for some reason, the teacher disliked me greatly. She even went out of her way to embarrass me on stage. Things turned around for me after going to college where no one knew who I was. My parents enrolled me into an Image and confidence developing class and it changed everything for me. It made me look at myself and I had to admit to myself that I was a good person. I had gotten out of my awkward stage and began nodeling, something I had always wanted to do. I encountered another bully when I began working at the same school where I took my modeling/image development courses. It made me finally realize where all the angst was coming from: Jealousy. This adult bullied me because she was a very, very jealous person. She put others down because it made her feel good about herself. That's what these bullies do! They find someone who is quiet, a little different, or shy and focus on them becuase they know it's an easy target and they won't retaliate! I am now almost 32, a mother of 2 wonderful littles, and I am a survivor. I went from hating myself and being in a very dark place, to thriving and having a successful modeling career. I actually got to come face to face with my main tormentor from middle school and she didn't want to see me! She knew how awful she had been, and it was great to smile and shake her hand after all the years and for her to be able to see me at my best. Bullying is so near and dear to my heart. I plan on doing seminars in the very near future to speak at schools to help tose who are being bullied, those who are bullying, and those who are the by standers. If you are being bulied, you need to realize that you are a GREAT person!! Guess what? We are ALL different!! It's ok to not be the same, dress the same, look the same as everyone else! It DOES get better and the best thing you can do is to STAND UP FOR YOURSELF! I wish I had had the knowledge and self confidence that I do now. Don't EVER let anyone push you around! These people will NOT matter as you grow up and get older! Take a good long look in the mirror. You are beautiful because God made you. If you are a bully, you too need to take a good long look in the mirror and ask yourself why. Why are you doing and saying those things? I have news for you, Bullies don't grow up. It's not cool to hurt people. You have a choice, grow up and be a better person, or stay on your path of being a bully and go NO whee in life. Those of you who stand by and do nothing? You too have a choice. STEP IN and STEP UP! Don't be a follower, HELP someone! Bullies are deep down cowards. If you stand up to them, there is power in numbers. YOU will be remembered for being a good person, and that's what matters in life. Most important, you get back what you put out. Constantly put out positive thoughts, do good things, and good things will happen to you. Hang in there, because YOU are WORTH it!!!

I have been bullied all my life. I have felt the pain and had the emotions. I am a heavy set girl with wide shoulders and natural muscle. Im the heaviest out of the three children in my family... and Im the youngest. I have been used, abused mentally as well as physically, and a joke that increased popularity. The other kids would pick on me, try to fight with me, and even steal my school supply. Through the years of my experience, it had come to my knowledge that no one cared about me except for my mom. My brother & sister would actually tell me I was fat and overweight. My biological father would and still does always treat me like I am not his child because "Im not beautiful." It took me 14 years to finally notice that he was using me so that he didnt have to pay child support. My brother has changed in a way, but it is mostly because he has moved out and now has a baby on the way. But I still live in the fear that one day he will again put his hands around my neck and choke me, or beat me, or say things to me that hurt. My sister still looks at me when Im eating as if I am mannerless and have no idea what manners are. As if Im a "pig." My mom still talks to me about my weight and tells me I need to slow down and catch myself. I can understand that. I have a problem that Im getting better with controling. I have also been through many "secret" relationships that involved peer pressure and bad influences. But eventually I caught myself and did nothing wrong. But I still have the invisible scars from previous events of the name-calling, the bruises, the silence of not speaking up... And the scars that will effect me for the rest of my life. I am now fixing to be a Junior in high school. I am making A's & B's, Im running for office in FFA, Im Vice President of Friends of Rachel, and I am making better decisions in my life, all because I spoke up. I did something to help myself. And its all because the world is speaking up and making it loud and clear. Have a voice and say something. Dont be a joke. Be 3! Be the one to make it happen!

I was mildly bullied throughout my whole school career. It was especially bad in elementary school. I then learned that I had two choices, one, to let them make fun of me and become a victim, or to embrace who I was and become a shield to other kids who were being bullied. Needless to say, I chose the second one when I was about 7 years old. It took time to brush up my mental defenses but when I reached high school, nobody could touch me. I had a aura that hey, you can make fun of me but good luck letting that get to me. The main reason why people made fun of me was because of how I dressed (I liked to wear colorful clothes and pretty sun dresses) and because I stood up for the other kids who were being bullied that couldn't help themselves. This lead to me not having a ton of friends but I did have respect because I wouldn't take anybody's crap. My mom and dad helped bring out the confidence in me. Even though I didnt have very many friends because I stood up for the "freaks and geeks", I have great friends now who love me because of that. Now today i am sometimes bullied by strangers because of my tattoos but i merely educate them and let them know how they are the weaker one for being a bully. We need to not try to stop bullying perse, but to empower the "victims" to not be a victim anymore. Once they have the confidence, the bullies are powerless. 

I work with children with special needs! I have to fight everyday for my kids to have the respect they deserve from others around them. My kids have to endure a lot from being called foul words to being mistreated by people be they think that kids with autism or down syndrome are lesser then they are. It breaks my heart knowing some kids not have someone to stand up for them. I challenge all of you to stop people from using the "R" word and to work to make the place better for those with special needs. 

My name is Jessica and though I am 20 years old now, I will never forget the effects bullying has had on me and others in my life. My personal bullying story is much like most girls' stories who don't "fit in".

It started in elementary school and escalated while in junior high. I was bullied because I was different, because I was a tom boy, because I was the new kid. I was usually alone on the playground, when I would try to play with other groups of kids, they would all glare at me, call me names, tell me to leave or just leave themselves. I had a few friends in elementary school; it took about a year or two to make them and after the bullying mostly died down. I still got dirty looks and was called names.

Then I went to junior high and freshman year of high school and the bullying started all over again....and this time it even more hurtful than before. I have always been on the skinny side-- it runs in my family. Growing up, I always looked too thin, lanky, unhealthy. I also didn't wear hardly any make-up, if any at all some days. I was called anorexic, bulimic, unattractive. Most of the girls in school just gave me dirty looks because I wasn't rich, popular and didn't wear all the fancy clothes and make up they did. Most of the guys didn't give me the time of day or be my friend for the same reasons the girls wouldn't. It made me feel like crud because I always felt ugly, unattractive and unwanted...and all because I didn't "fit it" with mainstream society and the mainstream social scene. There were times I would cry myself to sleep and even thought about taking my life because I felt like there was no point to be here if I wasn't wanted.

I was lucky to have some friends in school to help me through all of this. I also went to two to four counseling sessions a week--including group therapy. It helped me get through it all, be a stronger person and be who I am today.

I am here to help stop bullying. I am not the only member of my family who has been a victim of bullying and it hurts. No one deserves to be bullied. People who are being bullied need to know there are people out there who know what you are going through and there are people out there who can help--even if it is just by being someone there to listen. Bullies need to know that what they are doing is wrong. I hope one day to see an end to bullying and all the sadness that is caused because of it.

I'm 19 years old i was bulled for 13 years by almost every single person in my life. I don't have any friends an i don't trust anyone. I remember going to school an being called moron, idiot, and cyclops (because of my one good eye) then I go home just to be bulled more by my family. I don't try to make any friends to me a friend is just someone you give a knife so they can stab you in the back. I remember in 6th grade three kids want me to play football with them, but really they just made me fall on my face in front of the of everyone even the teacher. I learned that day even teachers can just be bullies. I remember another time in 10th grade were a kid grabbed my homework an took it from my hands when i tried to get it back the teacher said these words "Stand up an go to the corner if you want to bother someone bother the trash can." If someone tries to be my friend i just ignore them, because I just think of everyone that said they be my friend just so they can knock me down. This is what bulling has done to me the only reason I haven't kill myself is because my fear of the unknown, and death is an unknown.

Hey, I am 23 years old now, but I remember being bullied quite extremely verbally and some physically when I was little. It got really bad in 4th grade.

I was the youngest and smallest in my class. I always got picked on, and to top it off I was nerdy (I really liked books, and still do). I also wore glasses and during that time the style was the big round frames. I cried easily, I was very sensitive. So I was basically your classic target to be picked on.

I remember on girl in particular would torture me in my 4th grade class. Over the years I was called, "Freaky Four Eyes", "Nerd", "Geek" and every name in the book. The insults got more creative and personal as I got older.

4th grade was when the physical bullying started I was getting punched in the stomach, hit in the head with chairs, and lots of the usual pushed around. I always told my parents what was happening, and my older sister went to my school and saw it too. My parents talked to the teachers, and the principal and nothing was ever really done.

The final straw was one day my dad dropped me off at school, and he saw a girl spit a candy cane that had been in her mouth into my face. My parents had enough, and they pulled me out of public school.

My mother worked at a Christian school, so to go there you had to take a placement exam. I repeated 4th grade to go there, and that was the best thing that my parents ever did for me.

 My first 2 years there I was bullied a little, but because the classes were so much smaller the incidents could be isolated and stopped before they escalated too far. Then in 5th grade I will never forget. My mom had just had a conference with my teacher about the bullying. I still cried very easily. My mom just looked at me and she told me straight up, "You need to toughen up and grow a thicker skin, or these kids will never leave you alone." And she was right.

That's when I realized my sarcastic sense of humor could be a shield. I still use it to this day. It helped me get through school a lot, and kids began to leave me alone once I stopped reacting the way they wanted me to.

I will admit, at times I did bully a kid or 2. I even bullied a kid 2 years ahead of me in. What's ironic is I am now friends with that person, and so much more. The other kids I did bully I apologized to them. It was in 8th grade that I did that, and I realized I didn't like who I was becoming.

Through high school I decided to be nice to everyone, and I sat with the so called "outcasts" at lunch. I became their friend. I remembered what it was like to be in their position, so I basically exiled myself from the popular crowd at school.

I remember my senior year I got the biggest shock of my life. At homecoming I was so sure the popular mean girl was going to get Homecoming Queen. She had always won court princess and all that other stuff. BUT because I had been nice to all the underclassmen, and everyone else. I had been voted the Queen over the mean girl.

I am so thankful to my parents for doing something when the school wouldn't. Private school didn't fix all of my problems. I had to learn to stand up for myself, and grow a backbone. I did, and I was one of the lucky ones. My life wasn't perfect the popular kids still liked to pick on me, but I learned what I was worth. And I didn't let those kids define who I was.

Its funny because 5 years after high school, I am now friends with one of my biggest tormentors at the private school. For the kids still in school please remember something. There is life outside of high school, and no one in the real world cares who you were then. Your time to be who you want to be will come. I know school can be the worst place on Earth, but there is life after it, and it is an amazing adventure. So hang in there, and don't give up. :)

I am 25 now but this still haunts me because I didn't do anything about being bullied back then.

Here's my story. I just came from the Philippines  I was a scrawny and sheltered eleven year old kid who started 7th grade. I was a happy and energetic kid. 7th and 8th grade was hell because of these two kids, Jason and Kid B (I forgot his name). These kids pretty much talked down on me often, and threatened me if I didn't let them copy my homework or do something they want me to do. I hated it. I even hated myself more for lieing to the teacher when he came up to me and Kid B asking "Is everything alright here?". I stayed silent while Kid B says to him "Everything is alright, Sir" when in fact he was forcing me to get him lunch by keeping my bookbag ransom before the teacher walked at us.

Things weren't okay. I kind of wished the Teacher looked into the matter more instead of just asking. That would have made a huge difference.

This other kid, Jason, just cursed and talked down on me a lot. I hated it. Belittling me. I couldn't talk back because my English was horrible at the time. Whatever I said was put against me. I wish I had said and done something like talked to a teacher/ guidance/ principal or more over, my parents about it.

Actually, there's also this one Spanish person during my freshman year in HS. He always wanted to copy my homework. If I didn't let him, he'd threaten me like "I'll wait for you after school". The teacher would separate us or would point at him to tell him to stop but I regretted NOT directly speaking up and standing up for myself. I never did until after High School.

Now, I am 25. Good looking, fit, and smart. I have spent most of my days reflecting on my actions and thinking about how I could be better. Whenever I feel that I am being talked down to or felt like I am about to get bullied, I "try" not to stay quiet and act.

I try not to neglect those who were or are just like me; I try not to neglect myself.

This is my story.

My name is Emily. I was born and raised in the small western town of Midland, Texas, and I moved to Dallas, Texas after finishing my 3rd year of Elementary school. But, unlike most stories, mine does not start at my roots. It starts with a girl who had already found, accepted, and loved herself for who she was.

I've always known I was pansexual. Even before I knew what the word meant, I was sure that I was capable of loving anyone, no matter their shape, size, race, or gender. It never mattered to me. But of course, there are consequences for diverting from the path of "normalcy".

I've known since 4th grade that I was going to face many challenges in my life, simply for being what most people call "different". I was socially awkward, pudgy, and non-too-bright to boot. But I never let that stop me from making friends- even if those friends were the outcasts at our school. We were picked on and bullied relentlessly, but I was gifted with the ability to outshine all the hate with a smile brighter than any sun. I have yet to meet anyone more optimistic than myself.

So being the courageous and bold child that I was, I stood up for myself and my friends. When they kicked us, I kicked back ten times harder. I was a rough kid- biting and clawing were a matter of coarse for me. But the only reason I ever got in trouble was for defending myself and those I cared for. Any other time, I was (and still am) a fairly peaceful person.

So the years went by as such. I grew up, shed my baby fat, and became a somewhat-pretty girl. The only problem was, I dressed like a guy. And even though my hair was long through middle school, I kept it in a simple ponytail every day (and I do mean every. single. day.). Because of my dark getup and boyish behaviors, I was an easy target for teasing. And it became an everyday thing. They weren't aware of sexuality, so they instead went with names such as "freak" or "emo kid". They even went as far as to physically harass me- shoving, poking, throwing things at me. Every day was the same. I expected to be bullied, to be told to kill myself, to slit my wrists and die, simply because I dressed the part of a stereotypical "emo kid". But I was quite the opposite, actually. I laughed a lot, smiled often, and had a vast majority of friends. Friends who were seen as "preppy", friends who were "nerdy", "jocks", so on and so forth. I was an anime nerd, I adored gay boys, and wanted nothing more than to go screaming through the school hallways and tackle my friends to the ground in a giant bear hug (which I did- a lot). I might have faced a lot of hate, but it never stopped me from fighting back. And while there were times of depression, times of sorrow, I was blessed to have my wonderful friends at my side to cheer me up. If it weren't for them, I  probably wouldn't have had the strength to keep going. But I did, and then came High School.

High School was, simply put, peaceful. Everyone was older now, more focused on their education, and maturing little-by-little. No one really had time for bullying. It also helped that my school's population was in the thousands, so I wasn't the only lesbian-looking tom boy (at this point, I'd cut my hair extremely short). I had started wearing business suits to school, dressing like an upstanding gentleman, and even swapped my backpack for a leather briefcase. Everyone around the school knew me as "that lesbian girl". But I don't believe anyone looked down on me for it. Or at least, no one showed it. So I was fortunate. And even though I couldn't fully escape the bullies (there's always going to be at least one), I was content with life.

Junior and senior year came and went, more time passed, and I lost a few friends, gained a crap-ton more, and eventually got rid of the last of my enemies. But through the years of discovery, I realized one very important thing about myself- I was a defender. Not a bully, not a bullied, but a defender. Someone who fought back in defense of themselves and of others. It was thanks to that aspect in me that I gained such wonderful friends, and live such an extraordinarily happy and open-minded life to this day. So when you're being bullied, or you see someone being bullied, don't be part of the silence. Speak up, and be a defender. You never know.

You just might gain a real friend in the process.

I have been bullied because of my older sister. She's never made positive decisions, and people have always assumed I'm the same as her. Because call me a pot head, stupid, a whore, etc, just because of her actions. I'm the quite opposite. I've never smoked or drunken alcohol. I have a 3.7 gpa and straight a's. Every friend I have opened up to has taken all the information ive told them and just became another bully in the sea of people. It needs to end. Because of the bullying I have become severely depressed over the last year. I just need someone to understand, and that i'm here to put an endd to bullying and try to keep this from happening to anyone else.