I grew up in the UK in north east England in a small town. I was always that weird kid you know the one that didn't really have much social communication with other people. I got made fun of mostly because I wasn't like other girls, I didn't wear make-up or dresses or things that sparkled, I much rather play football than playing with dolls or barbies. I was bullied since I can remember but it probably got worse when I came out as a lesbian at 13 years old. 

I had no one to turn to not even my own mother at the time, people would hit me, write all over my books, spit at me in the halls, shout dyke or lesbian or you should of been a boy. The teachers did nothing at the time and they even moved me to do physical education with the boys because the girls called me a pervert and told me to get lost. It eventually ended up getting so bad that I stopped going to school for a couple of months because I just couldn't take it any more and all I heard and all my parents heard were kids can be cruel. After all of this I began cutting as a release for my pain and eventually tried to kill myself.

I am very glad to still be here, after school things got a lot better and a met friends in college that I realised would be my friends for life. I want to say that people don't realise that School is just one chapter of this amazing book and once you get past that, it's when your real life begins and together you can do it, we all can do it. 

I will stand up for anyone and I will go to my grave until a change is made, it does get better. 

When I was a kid, I got made fun of because of my name mostly, but I also had a big head for my size and my body didn't catch up with my head size until the 7th grade. Even then, I still got picked on because I wouldn't "conform" and do what everyone else was doing (sneaking out of the house at night to go to parties to get stoned or drunk or pick on other kids that just didn't fit in which meant I had to "join" their clique) It was hard to just "ignore" kids that pushed me around and tried to trap me in a place where a teacher couldn't see what was going on. The positive side to this story is that when these and other incidents occurred near a teacher or coach, most would grab the other kid and keep him locked down until the situation got calmed down and they wouldn't be afraid to give that bully a piece of their minds, but that was a different time. Today the schools tell the teachers not to raise their voices or touch the students in any way for fear of getting sued and traumatizing the bullies. I think that is part of the problem! It's bad enough that some parents don't teach their kids respect for others and let them "run wild", but then when the schools turn a blind eye because they're too "afraid" to reprimand anyone for getting out of control, that just makes the bullies think they can get away with anything! It seems to me that all the districts care about is that all the kids show up and have good attendance records so they get more funding and could care less about the kids' behavior. SAD!

By the time I was a senior the bullying stopped because one, I started lifting weights in 9th grade and by the time I was a junior I was pretty big but also was able to and did stand up for myself more. It cost me a few suspensions and a lot of detentions but it stopped. I was lucky though. I had good parents that stood up for me and for what was right and also as I stated, the teachers could act more then. I think that if the judges didn't allow the schools to be sued for doing what was right, and not get away with these "frivolous lawsuits" more kids would still be alive today!

I grew up in Knoxville, Iowa. And for a while I watched as kids got bullied and I didn't do anything. Then one day I started to get bullied because my shoes had a hole in them and I got to feel how it felt. I was in 5th Grade. I then pledged to myself that I will never stand by again. Even though I wasn't bullied extensively, it doesn't take much to feel the pain. I then moved up to Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. Here is where I saw larger amounts of bullying. It was a bigger city. And since I've moved up here I've been friends to those who don't have any. I've stood up for those who can't. And I will as long as I live. I want you to know that there are more like me. Just look for them. You're not alone and will never be. But most importantly don't become the bully. Get together with others that are getting bullied and ban together. Strength in numbers. Bullies won't bother you and if they do stand up for each other. Have each others back and don't be afraid to say something. If you think you're being a tattle-tale your wrong. Telling someone will make a difference and by telling them you can get help. Don't do this alone, lets do it together.    

When I was born, I was addicted to cocain, my biological mother didn't take care of me, and at the age of 20 months old I was left on the side of the highway, in a diaper, in the middle of october. I was found by a police officer and put into the fostor care system. While in fostor care I was abused, starved and neglected. I was hit, and not taken care of. At the age of almost 6 years old I weighed a total of 26 pounds. I was finally removed from that home when my preschool bus driver notified police. Then I was placed into this home. My parents are amazing. In elementary school I had anger problems from the abuse. People would always tell me that my real parents didn't want me and I remember wanting to kill myself. My three little sisters were then adopted from abusive homes, and I knew I had to be strong for them. One sister was abuse so badly, she developed juvenile schizophrenia and can no longer live with us. This has all made me stronger. Now I'm 18 years old. Accepted into 9/9 colleges, and I have a bright future because I had my family, and my real friends as my support system, and you can too.

I was bullied starting in 6th grade because of something that I could not change, my height. Starting in 6th grade I was the tallest kid in school. At 5'11'' I stood out from the rest of the crowed. For three years in middle school I was brutally bullied to the point where there were times that I thought the only way to make it better was to no longer be around.  I tried committing suicide three times by the beginning of 8th grade.  When walking in the halls people would throw things at my head, because it was right there out in the open for everyone to see.  At many times I would have water bottles thrown at my head, I had food thrown into my face, as I walked down the halls kids would push me into the walls as hard as they could.  One boy pushed me so hard that my head smacked against the wall and it was so loud that it could be heard through class room doors.  Over the course of the three years in middle school things got worse and worse, and yet no one would or could help me or make it stop.  I thought that once I hit high school things would change.  I was wrong my freshman and sophomore year things were just as they were in middle school.  There was still the name calling, the pushing and shoving and the things being thrown at my head.  6 years later being a Student at the University of Arizona getting my BA in Psychology I have one major goal, and that is to take a stand against bullying and to be one of many to make this epidemic stop, for good.  I have grown to be stronger, prouder, and have grown to be the person that I am today by experiencing what I did in middle school and High School.  I am proud to say I am a tall 6'2 beautiful woman, who no longer fears her height but expresses it in any way that I can.  My one piece of advice for anyone who is bullied, dont give up, stay strong and know that there are people out there who love you, care about you, and who are wanting and willing to do anything to prove it.

When I moved to Winnipeg from Vancouver I was bullied on day one at my new school and every day that followed till grade 9. At first it was just teasing and name calling but it got physical very quickly, I got four square balls, basket balls, soccer balls all thrown at me during every recess. Over the course of the years it would get worse and soon more people other than my grade starting bullying me, I remember of being afraid to change in the change rooms after and before gym because I would always get five stars which is when someone slaps your bare back. When I went to high school in grade 9 I made my very first friend and were still best friends and I know I owe my life to her, she gave me the confidence to stand up for myself and when I did I almost got beat up and even 4 years later in grade 12 not a lot of people in my grade will talk to me but they don't make fun of me either because they know I won't take it. I want to help others the same way my best friend Kalyn helped me, I saw the movie bully on Netflix and it has inspired me to reach out to people that need help so if you need/want it I'm open to anyone that needs help and hopefully I can help you achieve the happiness I achieved. 

I grew up in a very small town in Oklahoma  I was bullied relentlessly, sometimes it felt like the entire school came down on me. I couldn't walk through the halls without people staring or laughing. I'd be attacked for no reason. I had gotten to a point where i felt that there was no hope left. I sat in English class with people whispering and staring until one day i met a friend. All it takes is one to stand for you, and hope is restored. It gets better, i promise!

I was bullied at home, not only school. Home is where people usually feel safe. Not in my neighborhood. There are kids that would call me names and pick on me. They would call me stuff like Beaver or Rabbit, it made it really hard for me to make friends. After a few years I stood up for my self and I was only seen as another girl in this neighborhood. I finally found one friend and eventually found more as I continued to live here. Now, I am still living in this place and am not bullied. I never have been ever since that one day I stood up for myself.

                                      -Konane Dillard

Though the path to who I am today came at great heartache to me, I wouldn't change it. It is who I am. As a child and teen I was bullied. Everything from name calling to kicking me. Looking back as an adult, I understand that these bullies probably didn't have a good home life, however it doesn't excuse behavior.

My experience with Bullying started in 6th grade. Never, did I think I would become a victim of Bullying. I am now in 8th grade and it's taken a toll for the worst. Never should someone have to feel so alone and so worthless. Noone should ever feel they just bother people by simply, breathing. Never should someone be pushed to want to take their own life, because they were told too or because they can't take anymore. I will never understand what "fun" people get out of Bullying. I will never understand what's funny about going home sobbing because you can't let them see your in pain. I will never understand what's fun about putting people down so much, to where they believe it. I will never understand any of this. I will not go on about my problems because words couldn't even express how i feel or what has happended. But, I am in 8th grade and now, in homeschooling. I've been pushed that far. I would never wish any pain from getting bullied on anyone not even my worst enemy.