You belong here. we all belong here. If you have experienced bullying, and have thought about suicide, please don't consider it. You may just be in the moment and you want to end the sadness, but you, me and everyone else has so much ahead of them in their lives. People everywhere care about you and love you very much. Including your teachers, friends, parents and so many more. If you ever have to talk, talk to your close friends, parents, and maybe even one of your teachers. They will be there for you and will listen. If you are ever in a crisis, and need to talk immediately, call a hotline. I just want you to know, people do care. You may think they don't, but if anything bad happened to you, they would be heartbroken. They will try their best to help you and solve tough problems that you have.
If you need to talk, here are some numbers for hotlines:
CRISIS HOTLINE: 1-800-273-8255
DEPRESSION AND SUICIDE HOTLINE: 800-SUICIDE, 800-442-HOPE

I’m going to level with you I hate bullying and I will do everything I possible can to prevent it from being a common occurrence. People share my view on this topic and believe it should be one of the main priorities to monitor, but I didn’t start believing what I do because everyone else did or because I witnessed it happen. I experienced it, I was a victim. I want to talk to you about what bullying is, its effects and some of my story hopefully leaving you guys with both a little more insight into myself and a little more insight as to what it is and preventing it.  

Can you guys imagine for me a little girl, with the oversized dress and hat and bag waddling down to these massive school gates, she was full of anticipation, wonder, happiness, excitement, motivation and courage. She seems like a little girl with an extremely bright future doesn’t she! Little did she know she wouldn’t stay that way for very long. From the minute she walked into those gates, from the minute she spoke to the first person she was instantly targeted and she didn’t know why. She didn’t ask for it and she didn’t do anything to deserve it. She became the centre of every fight, and every hateful word. She was told she was worthless she was told to end her life she was told she was nothing she was told that she shouldn’t try because she’s a failure and she could never achieve anything, she was told she was fat and ugly and annoying and stupid. This girl was 6 years old! Yet these words and actions left a very distinct imprint in her mind for years. That girl is 15 now. That girl was me.

It  started in kindergarten at St therese primary school and it continued all the way up to year 3 until eventually it became too much, to unbearable that I was forced to move schools to St Lukes primary school. And unfortunately it didn’t stop there either, it continued through years 4, 5 and 6. That’s my entire primary school life. How do you guys remember your last day of year 6? Probably crying because you will miss everyone and laughing back at all the past memories. I spent my last year 6 day in the bathrooms, sitting in the cubical eating my lunch because I felt to threated, to ashamed to walk outside those doors and face the harsh words people had to say. In what sick and cruel world are kids belittled to the point that they go to the effort to hide, they have to go to the great length of hiding and making an effort not to be seen because they are so scared in their own environment? These people, they didn’t know how much they were hurting me how much they were effecting me. These bully’s don’t understand that what they say actually DOES hurt that person weather they show it or not. You can say all you like nono its okay they don’t care they laugh about it well let me ask you this, how could you possibly tell what that person is feeling, what that person is going through. You don’t know everything. It takes a certain level of humility to actually say um I actually don’t like that, its killing me. I had not a single shred of confidence. My mum spent 7 years of her life building my confidence back up again after I didn’t believe in myself anymore, I thought I was worthless and I started to believe what these people were saying about me and that’s when it starts. When you start to believe what they say that’s when the depression and the anxiety and that self hate starts. Its proven that the more times you are told something the more you start to believe it, these kids are targeted everyday, that’s 365 days a year for 7 years possibly 13 that these kids are forced to get up and face this cruelty. That’s incredible the amount of sheer determination they have to adapt to every single day just to get through it. I want you to know that you might be playing around; I could pretty much say that 98% of you have teased someone in your life. What if the person you’re teasing is the person who is thinking of committing suicide?

People think that bullying is tough, it’s not tough. You want to know what tough is, go up to the people you tease and say you’re sorry, you want to know what tough is, go up to the people that tease you and say please stop. That’s tough. What numbers of suicides have to take place before society realizes that bullying kills people. How do we get through to people that pulling someone down wont make you reach the top. It’s not funny and its not a game. In high school, unlike primary school, I have a support system, I have people there for me who will bring me back from that edge, because of those people who I call my friends I’m still here. We, as a community, need to be that support network for these kids and these students who cant speak for themselves, we need to be the change. Bullying happens way more than it should but you always have the power to make a difference. If someone is alone on the play ground will you offer to be his friend? If someone gets pushed down will you lift them back up? If a friend is sad because of a mean text or message will you send some kind words to make her smile? If someone puts you down will you believe them or choose to believe in yourself? Be apart of the positive not the negative speak up and spread kindness.

I am 36 years old and last week I left a alcohol and drug rehab after four months of treatment. I was addicted to alcohol, drugs and prescription medication for 20 years of my life. I tried hard to lead an honest life but fall back into crime again and again. Fortunately I was never sentences seriously for what I did. All my life I was convinced that there is something entirely wrong with me. I was bullied in school and was unable to finish college or to study due to concentration problems and general anxiety disorder which I just found out recently. I changed to a new school after primary school when my big family moved to another village. I was scared and I hated everyone because I felt worthless and thought that everyone else feels superior to me. I felt isolated and alone. When I was eleven years old I found out that I was gay and the next hustle started for me to conceal my sexual identity. I did never finish anything successful in my life and my core belief is that I am a loser. When I finally went into treatment after I was picked up by the police to be psychologically evaluated by a doctor, things finally started to fall in place. All my life I was lying and pretending to be somebody else. Nobody knew the real me, not even I did. I tried to be as perfect as possible so nobody can attack or humiliate me. I was diagnosed with complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Bipolar Disorder and Addiction. All of my childhood I was bullied. Most of it by my own mum. I was abused in nearly any way I can imagine and I didn't even know do to a Dissociative Disorder. When things started to clear up one day, I was like struck by lightning, when I noticed that I also became a bully. Due to my childhood I perceive my environment as hostile and I am very judgmental. When I found out I also discovered that I only bullied weaker people actively. Stronger people I bullied passive aggressive. Both is really pathetic and I really wasn't aware. I dominated people and situations with my demeanor, attitude, speech and even clothes and the wealth I possess (or rather imagined). I thought it is fun to display other peoples' defaults and package it in a joke or gossiping behind their back. I was holding so many resentments towards so many people. And why? Because I am a hurt little boy who is afraid being judged himself. My story is so much longer but it contained bullying all my life. I want to share so much more that all people acting like that can be aware. Now my life is very different. My perspective changed completely and I want to help to change the world or at least my environment. I still can't work due to all the symptoms but I won't force myself right now. I am in constant therapy and go to two support groups a day. The old me is dead and my former life is lost and a nightmare from which I woke up one January 4th - my new birthday.

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Hi I'm Camille. 

I'm 15 going 16 and when I thought the world was just this dark and lonely place, I finally found the light to my tunnel. I don't want to just overcome my experience with bullying; I want to stand up for everyone else who needs it.

I'm embarrassed to say I used to call people names back then - just because I knew there was something they had that I didn't. I thought maybe calling them names would make me feel better, and it did. I felt comfortable under my skin just because I used my insecurity to pull everyone else down. And then, we moved to Australia.

I came off cocky and my attitude was a mess - I was bullied. I got called names, balls were thrown at me, got told I was too smart and got made fun of for it. I'm a small kid, 4"11 and everyone else was 5"10 - all their smirks and laughs scared me. It was unlike me. My self-esteem was low as it could ever have been, I cried myself to sleep. I was ashamed to tell someone what I was going through because I didn't want them to take pity on me, so I kept all of it to myself. I kept it in, held my feelings back. Until it came to the point when the mornings scared me - the thought of going to school scared me. I'd wag my classes, skip school, faked sick, even hide in the bathroom stalls for a whole day because I was that scared... and then I knew the bullying I did back then, backfired.

I suffered from stress, depression and anxiety. But I'm finally getting through.

I'm making it up to the kids I bullied, and I'm finally standing up for myself and I'm trying to stand up for everyone else as well.

If you've been bullied, this is me saying sorry in behalf of them... No one should ever go through being bullied - no one should ever waste their tears over someone else's insecurity. And if you're a bully, this is me telling you to STOP. If you think it makes you cool, think about this: "Does driving someone to killing themselves make you look cool?"

What if you owned a home and business in your community, had never been in any trouble in your over 60 years of life and you were being bullied by an employee of your local airport? What if you called your local airport in 2009 to ask very nicely if the student pilots could please stop doing stall maneuvers over your home and the person you called about was the most powerful person at your airport.  And what if he was maybe an alcoholic and maybe going through a divorce (we are grasping at straws here, we don't understand how anyone can do this to another person for any reason) and your call pushed him over the edge.  What if within one hour, you were being bombarded by every small plane in the area and then three weeks later, every jet, helicopter and private plane was buzzing your home? What if this government employee decided that you don't deserve to live and set about every single day for almost six years to destroy your life? What if this employee stalked you through your atm and credit cards, phones and computers so they could destroy you wherever you went? And the military, this is especially heart breaking that our military would participate in trying to destroy the life of it's own people. We are shocked at how many pilots participated in the bullying and sleep deprivation of us.  True psychological warfare designed to cause you to commit suicide.  What if someone wanted to take all joy from your life and hunted you like an animal and had every resource to do so and no one would stop him? Who would you call? We will never ever be the same.  Six years. Who would you call? Where do adults of bullying by government employees go for help? This is abuse of power in the worst way. How many people have lost their lives to suicide or cancer from this kind of abuse of power? He is allowed to fly over me every single day.  Can you imagine being forced  to live with your bully?  It's rape of the soul.  It's so incredibly damaging.  How many people have lost their children and homes because they innocently crossed the path of a monster with unlimited resources? This is beyond sad and sick. Please, we need a hero. We need people to hear about this. They want us to be so scared that we say nothing. For evil to succeed, all that needs to happen is for good people to do nothing. We need help. We need a hero. What will they do to us next? It's a chilling thought. I don't know how long I can't take this. Six years already! HELP.

I called our local airport back in 2009 to ask if the student pilots could please stop doing stall maneuvers over our home. Within the hour, I was being bombarded by every private plane. Two weeks later, jets so low over our hill. We lived here 11 years and never had one jet. We live over 20 miles from the airport but they have sent military jets and helicopters, commercial jets and private planes so low over our home for six years now. This bully has also stalked us and bullied us in every park, beach, restaurant, church, doctors' appointments - anything we book online. He is going to cause my suicide and NO ONE WILL STOP HIM. We contacted every one we could, including Scott Kelly , the astronaut who claims to be anti bully but has now this monster flies over our home every minute since we contacted him. Please, help me before it's too late. Someone needs to tell the FAA that you are not allowed to kill people just because you don't like them. SIX YEARS!!!

When I was a girl in grade four, a sick boy cornered me on a school play set threatening that if I came down he would attack me.  He was in grade six. This was just before the morning school bell and on the play park with a teacher fifteen feet away. My friend and I tried screaming for help, but when the boy screamed over us we were ignored. Finally we saw that the teacher was leaving and the only way to get away was to make a run for it. I tried to get away but he yanked me down the slide, threw me to the ground, punched and kicked me repeatedly and flipped me over to beat the other side of me. Finally when he was done, to cover his tracks he said "Don't ever hit me again" and stomped off. I was in shock and concussed but my friend picked me up and helped me over to the teacher who had his back turned the whole time. When he called the boy over, instead of punishing him and checking to see that I was alright he just argued with the boy about why he should be punished. The boy threatened to hurt me again if he were punished and reasoned that since he was bigger and a boy he should be able to do what he wanted with me. I was just told to sit through the morning anthem even though I had a concussion and two black eyes. My parents were told nothing, and when I did tell them, their angered phone calls were met with the explanation that "these two kids just got into a fight". Later when it was clear that the school's lie that we had both been fighting was not being taken, they tried to sell his excuses which included  "I was just having a bad day so I did what I always do, I beat up a little girl".  All of these things I heard when I was called into the principals office when I was called down to see what could be done to "Make everyone get along". The principal tried everything he could to make sure the boy could make up some excuse for his attack. He was given a week's detention and than afterwards he attacked another little girl, this time in kindergarten. The boy has now grown into a man that is serving time for aggravated sexual assault . Stories like these are not uncommon, and attacks like these at that school in particular were not uncommon. It wasn't until high school that a wonderful principal finally stopped the harassment immediately and altogether that I realized some little petty coward's bullying is their fault and their's alone, and they are wrong and horrible for it. Children need to be treated the way adults would by police if they assaulted someone, and no leniency shown because some children may be "really nice kids" to certain sucker teachers.