School has always been a major part of my life. I had a bad home life and school was suppose to be a place I could get away from that. I love to learn and I am currently in College to become a High School Mathematics teacher. I did wonderful in school I almost always had good grades and was considered a nerd. I still can't figure out what is so bad about being smart? Everything about school was fine except the bullying. I have been dealing with bullying my entire school career, all the way from kindergarten through high school, even a little in college. In elementary school it was stupid jokes from my peers but mostly just high school kids who thought I was an annoying little girl. The worse years for me were middle school and my last two years of high school. In middle school kids were just mean. I had recently moved from Arkansas to Ohio and had a thick southern drawl. I had also gained ALOT of weight the previous year and got the worse hair cut in the history of hair cuts(at least for a 6th grade girl in the 2000's a Mullet was considered torture). i was called Joe Dirt and Fat. Most kids thought i talked too much(which was probably true but doesn't mean you have to tell me how much you don't like me because of it) and they teased me about being smart. No one ever really hit me because i wasn't one to really talk back or say anything. I did have one teacher in middle school who seen a girl threatening me and he made sure something was done about it. Kids told me that if i joined the cheerleading squad that they would quit football because they didn't want to see me in that outfit, I was told i was just white trash and should live in a dumpster, and most kids didn't want anything to do with me because they thought i was weird. In the last two years of high school i experience a huge attitude change. Up until this point(even though i had been bullied my whole life) i had never had trouble making friends. But once again i was the new girl in a new school, i was a nerd(and proud), and i was kinda chubby. When it first started it was mostly boys making mean comments and girls who thought they could get away with anything saying the first horrible thing they could think of. I was told to shut up most everyday by at least one person and most the people in my graduating class didn't even talk to me unless they wanted help with homework. Then i started dating a girl. I was called so many horrible things i can't even remember. I went to my junior prom completely alone and didn't even go to my senior prom because i didn't see why i needed to repeat that horrible experience again. My home life had dramatically changed and by the time school ended i would have rather been anywhere but at school. If I ever had the opportunity to go back to high school, lets just say i would rather cut off my own leg. I want to be a teacher for many reason and one of those reasons is the hope that i may be able to save someone from having to experience the same things i did when i was in school. I really hope that one day bullying can be quashed, there are many things that need to happen and one of those is for people to realize that not just the schools can change it parents need to open their eyes to what is happening. Another thing is that the schools need to realize that, although they don't want to see it and turn a blind eye to it, bullying happens in all schools everywhere. Instead of not doing anything about it or telling the kids to work it out on their own, they need to remember back to when they were kids and how it felt for them. If they were not bullied good for them, although i don't believe you, but know that kids are very impressionable. Kids determine what they can or cannot do by your reaction to what they did. if you ignore the bullying eventually it will get bad enough to really effect how someone thinks of themselves. I never wanted to die but i did cut myself. I felt like i deserved to be punished because i must have done something for people to treat me this way. My graduation was one of the happiest moments of my life but for all the wrong reasons. School was hard no one wanted to listen and most of the time refused to believe saying "there is no way 'bullies name' would have done that they are an outstanding student". I am now almost 22 and am a junior in college. I survived being bullied for 13 years of my life and there are signs of it everyday. However, i wouldn't change a thing because it has made me who I am and NO BODY can tell me I am not a good person anymore.

Note: I was bullied in middle school and high school but when I graduated, the pain didn't end. I kept pushing it away hoping it would finally just disappear -- this lead to years of being in this fog, and never really being completely happy. It wasn't until I was an adult when I was forced to deal with the pain. I never imagined a tv show and an actress would somehow play a role in forcing those emotions to the surface, but it did. Below is just one of many ways I was able to heal. Hopefully it doesn't sound silly but I think we all have our own way of healing and confronting our own pain. The quotes you see in bold are words that I really related to. 

Like so many others I was bullied all through school, but it was middle school when it got really bad — all because of a rumor another girl decided to spread about me and a fellow friend. I never knew this girl very well ( I barely had any classes with her) but somehow she decided to spread a silly rumor and helped others make my life a living hell. Rumors spread like wildfire and suddenly every day I had a goal to simply survive the day. By the time I graduated high school, and after being bullied by students AND some teachers (yes, teachers), I was a wounded soul, yet I somehow made it through. Even though they stacked odds against me that I wasn’t "smart" enough to graduate or to even succeed in going to college or having a career, I graduated with a 4.0 GPA and went to college (and I am now a lead graphic designer at a small company) but really, I was a shell of a person - I was empty. I didn’t know who I was or who I’d become. I simply didn’t know how to be me because all this time I was told being me was wrong. It’s a horrible thought to have.

No child should ever fear to walk down the hallway of their school because they don’t know what will happen to them. Would I be harmed? What horrendous words would be thrown in my direction today (I was once told I was better of dead at one point - that’s how severe the threats and words were)? It was a fear I had to face every day. To some, words are simply words. However, they are as equivalent as a punch in the gut. Only with words you don’t see a wound or the bruise left by the aggressor but the victim? We feel it everyday. The wounds eventally scar over but they stay with us. A constant reminder of that horrible time. 

“It hurts until it doesn’t. You think it’s going to break you, but it won’t. You may not sleep as well at night, but you will be fine. Numb, but numb and fine are the same.” - Mellie Grant, Scandal

College was the only school I felt safe in. Finally I could walk the halls without fearing of being harmed or harassed. I didn’t realize the battle wasn’t over and now I had to rebuild myself — a big challenge. This took years and so many things played a role in the rebuilding.

The pain was severe but I kept tucking it away hoping it would eventually disappear. Maybe if I kept ignoring it and acting as if it didn’t exist, it would go away and never return. But it stayed and it all came to surface when I sat down and watched a show named Scandal. Being a TV show buff and someone who loves writing and how creative writers can be -- it didn't shock me too much that a show/character/actress would play a role in this journey to healing...

The moment I saw Mellie on Scandal, I saw more to her than her cold demeanor. I saw much deeper than that. I related to her. Her anger is what I felt inside. She was a woman in pain. A woman who had been wronged and had no one on her side. That’s all she wanted; someone on her side. Someone to listen (“I want to be heard!”).

As I watched her scenes and heard her monologues, I could feel myself getting emotional. more than I ever have during any show/movie. Not because I related to her exact trial or situation, but because it was bringing up my own anger and bitterness I had against those bullies. Suddenly all the pain was at the surface and it was demanding to be felt.

"Love is a true unconditional space to me. To love someone or to be loved is to be seen, and I think, gosh, as humans, all we want is to be seen, to be heard, right? To be valued. To be respected. But mostly just to be held in a safe, unconditional space." - Bellamy Young, Origin Mag.

I was bitter that I was alone during those years, and I had no one on my side. I had to fight through the battle alone because I didn’t know who to turn to. I was angry no one could see my screaming wounds that had barely scarred over. These strong feelings intrigued me to look up this amazing actress who portrayed Mellie in a such wonderful and heart wrenching way. I needed to know who this woman was.

I didn’t realize how these actions were about to lead me down a new path of healing - all because of Amy Maria Young (stage name is Bellamy Young). I watched her red carpet interviews, I watched her talk show interviews and I saw she had endured so much grief and pain in her own life. Once again I felt a connection. While we had two totally different stories and two different types of pain, I felt connected. As more interviews came out over the year, and she talked of pain and true beauty, I could feel my heart softening and the once dim light in my life was getting brighter. These were words I had longed to hear. I ached for these words every day. She was the sunshine in my own darkness, and she brought back the light. She taught me to welcome my pain like I welcome the joy - it was a challenge at first because all the pain was built up. She taught me that even with all the pain, darkness and ugliness that we face in our lives, we can still be a good person and we can still carry ourselves with grace. It’s the only way we’ll heal and have a good life - holding onto bitterness and anger won’t get us anywhere.

"You gotta love yourself, because when you’re hurting — you never know who’s gonna be around to do the lovin’ for ya. You gotta love yourself through the pain." - Bellamy Young, Origin Mag

I forgive my bullies. Perhaps they were in a bad place and felt the need to inflict their own pain on someone who seemed to have a happy life. I’ll never understand why that girl spread the rumor or what her exact purpose was but that’s not for me to understand. Right now, I just have to continue moving on. I truly hope those bullies are happy and have a good life. And if they have kids I hope they remember how they treated me and will teach their kids how awful bullying is and how it can impact someone’s life.

I’ve been wanting to write about this for such a long time but I kept hesitating in fear people would think this is a silly way to heal, but if this can somehow reach out to someone who is currently being bullied perhaps this will help inspire them to keep going and to keep the hope, maybe this will help them find a way, a person, or anything to help them with the pain and for them to see the light. The days do get better and the sun does return.

"But also, kindness. That is what thrills me, personally. Small acts of kindness; thoughtful, large acts of kindness. I feel like we’re in a bit of a precipice, and I think that any beautiful energy on the kindness continuum will just help us fall into a lovelier place. From the fear and constriction that’s sort of always pulling us back and keeping us in old modalities, I feel like any expansive act of kindness, thoughtfulness, and generosity, helps tip the scale toward a more conscious, liberated existence for everyone. The smallest act has repercussions for the universe." - Bellamy Young, Origin Magazine

Why can't I just be accepted for who I am? I have a unique personality just like anybody else. The unique thing about it is that I'm different than everybody else. I am my own me. Everybody teases me because I'm "weird" or "ugly" or "fat"... I've even been called the "b" word. I try to be everybody's friend. I try to put a smile on my face. But do you realize that a smile is not only a facial expression, but also a mask to cover up my emotions. It's not like I've ever been able to go tell an adult other than my parents about bullying. In 1st and 2nd grade kids were taking my lunch and I couldn't do anything about it. The lunch monitors and teachers didn't care. In 3rd and 4th grade I was always called weird because I played kick ball on the playground with the boys instead of on the playground hanging out with the girls; the reason why: when I tried to hang out with the girls, they wouldn't let me play and when I finally stood my ground and did what I wanted, I was laying on my back at the top of the slide while two girls stood on my hair to keep me from going down. In 5th grade, do you think I had anymore friends than I did before? Nope. In 6th grade, I met this girl who I thought was my best friend. Guess what! She just took advantage of me. I'm a person that is forgiving. She slapped me and hit me at lunch and in various other places when I would do something that would "annoy" her (ex.:try to talk to my other friend who sat on the other side of her at lunch)(?) She also asked for me to buy her lunch bc she had left hers at home so I was a good friend to her and I bought her lunch and then went hungry. Well when the time came around where I forgot my lunch money at home she couldn't bother returning the favor with a 10 lb. lunch bag... I also got teased by kids because I wore the same colored shirt everyday (my school has uniform dress code). I also was teased bc somedays I would try to make my self look nice so I did my hair and makeup and it would get ruined b4 I even got to 1st period. Whenever I just try to be myself, I'm ignored or told I'm annoying. I don't get it? Am I supposed to just act like everybody else and not have my own personality? I didn't know it was illegal to be DIFFERENT! I come home crying bc of bullying and I cry myself to sleep sometimes when I think about it. Somedays I've thought about running away from home bc I don't want to have to go back to school. I wish people could realize that I am the only me... And that no one should EVER try to change that.

Hey guys! My name is Mia, and I am almost 14 years old. I will be going into the eight grade. So basically i wanted to share my story with you guys right now because I just finished watching the movie "Bully" and i am not going to lie, but i was crying. Anyway, i a going to tell you about my story. 

 

It all started when I was in the 4th grade. My parents were going through a divorce, and all my friends thought that it was weird. So they began to pick on me. I remember the kids in my class saying that it was my fault for my parents divorce. I would get so upset that everyday I would try to convince my mom that I was sick so that i wouldn't have to go to school. Finally when school let out for the summer I felt like I could just be me again. When we went back to school in the fall, things seemed to have gotten worse. It went from every once in a while, to every day that I would be getting made fun of. Towards the middle of the year I started getting punched, tripped, and rammed into the wall. I could never muster enough courage to tell my parents. By the end of my fifth grade year I had completely forgotten when school was fun to go to. Over the summer I became depressed. I remember walking in the first day of the sixth grade, and not having anyone to talk to. The bullying got worse so I had started to cut myself. At this time I only had one friend. She was the only one who knew what I was doing, and I knew she hated it. On November 16, 2012 I attempted to kill myself. I texted my friend that I was sorry, and that I never meant to hurt her. When i woke up the morning after my attempt I felt horrible. When I showed up to school my friend was crying as she was going through my locker, she said that she would have missed me so much if I had been dead. The bullying had continued to get worse and my friend would call me every night to make sure that I was ok. On January 16, 2013 I had tried to kill myself again. I had texted my friend the same text as last time, and after another failed attempt, I went to school the next day only to have everyone talking about me. My friend friends phone was taken on the bus and when she got it back they went through everything and saw my suicide letter. Those people told the entire school, and the bullying was worse than ever. My friend had told one of the teachers because she was worried about me, and the school had to tell my parents. It was the worst day of my life. I had told my parents everything except the bullying. They thought that it was just that I was under a lot of stress. I had told them that I would never cut again, but it was only a month before it happened again. Finally I had finished 6th grade. That entire summer was of my parents asking if I was ok. When I had went into the seventh grade everything was the same as before. I had finally told my school asst. Principal about all the bullying. It made a world of a change. It didnt go away completely, but the physical bullying did. It got better. During the middle of 7th grade I guess you could say that I was "Hanging in the wrong crowd". I was raised going to church every sunday, and wednesday. So yeah, according to them it was the wrong crowd. I started smoking and drinking. It was a way to numb the pain without having to cut. I stayed with my group of friends until the end of the year. In the start of this summer I was trying everything that I could to try to keep my parents from finding out. It wasn't until a couple days ago that I realized that it does get better. I know that it doesn't really sound like it with the drinking and smoking, but I am trying to stop. Its been a year and a half since my last suicide attempt, so yeah it does get better. 

 

You can do this.

No matter how hard it may seem.

Please remember that yeah, it may seem hard now, but you will get through this.

If you are being bullied and scared to tell someone, I can completely understand. It took me almost 4 years to speak up.

Please tell someone. Even if its just your parents, an adult you trust, or even a teacher.

Things can change. Things can get better 

Hi my name is michelle norris an when i was in kindagarden  I was bullied i got hit an I got stuff thown at me ! an this whent on all the way through school untill one day I met this cool man by the name of Keith Curt an he taught me to stand up for my self . kids were realy mean to me they would call me realy bad names an beat me up at lunch time . But that was befor I learnd how to stand up to them an now I try to help other kids how to stand up for there self . kids that you don"t even know or hear about take there lifes everyday for what because some kid has had it done to them in the past of it could still be going on an don"t want anyone to know about it so they becme a bully as well . I have learned in my 37 years of being on this Earth that you should treat people the same way you would like to be treated  ! I am  legily blind so u could only imagen what i whent through as a kid . thank you for reading my story !!!!!

I remember when i was like 6-7 i just started school i wasn´t the most popular kids i had some good freinds too. We wasn´t the coolest cids but we were holding on to each other. But it was the girls in my class and the popular guys that were picking on me and they where totally crude to me. They dident bully me all the time but somedays they where on me and pushing me out when i wanted to play with them. They called me some stuff and that but most of the time i just ignored them but when i got older when i was like 12 they didn´t bully med any more. They said that i was cool and they invited me to their freindship and  of course i said yes and i starting hanging out with the cool guys and the girls. But we had this guy in my class we had been classmates since i first started school. It was a thing about him that i dident see he was bullied to but i didn´t noticed that untill i was one of the cool guys and i noticed that they where bullying him and i feel ashamed to say this but i was bullying him to becuse all the other guys did that. And time went on and one day it was snow outside and a couple off guys said hey lets wrestle him down in the snow and punch him and i was like mmh yeea i never liked that they where bulliyng. And they did wrestle him down and he was screaming stop! stop! and there where like three people on him and they where laughing and pushed him down in the snow. But the wrong thing is that there where like 5-7 people just standing around him and watched. Then i finally came to my head what am i doing just standing here watching him get beaten down so i ran to him and trying to drag them away from him. When i started trying to get them of him all the people standing around helpt me to get the bullies of him. We got the bullies of him and the first thing he did was giving me a hug and said thanks you saved me. Then i understud that one person have to get in and help the bullied all the other people standing around and just watching are afraid to say something and if just one person can step in the other will to. Becuse they doesn't want to be the first to say something becuse they are afraid that they will be the bullied. And after that day i promised myself that i would never pick on anyone ever and time after that i have been trying to help people that have it hard in school. Im 16 now so this was 6 years ago but i remember it like it was yesterday never be afraid to step in. stop the bullying.  (SORRY ABOUT MY ENGLISH)

I've been trying to get my story out for a while now.

This is what happened to me and that will happen to alot of kids out there that gets bullied.

I'll just copy/paste the story i've shared all over the globe. I hope it open up some eyes.

 

Hello.

Please share this to prevent this from happening again anywhere to anyone ( age, gender, race, nationality, religion, ethnicity, social or economic status, sexual orientation, health condition, disability or ability)

I was completely ignored when I went up to order food (they just walked away from me). My friend and I stood there for a second in total disbelief, thinking did that really happen?!?! I had to do something about it so I wrote this letter. About 10 minutes later, I came back and gave it to the staff and stood there while each of them read it!

For those of you who can't read my chicken scratch of handwriting... here what it says
Hi, My name is Brittany Adler. I am 24 years old. I graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Exercise Science and Heath Science. I plan on getting my Doctorate of Physical Therapy. I also happen to have Dystonia, a condition that affects my muscle tone and speech. Just because I have this disability doesn't mean I should be disrespected. It is a good thing that I am a strong individual otherwise, I would have been devast(at)ed. With that being said, everyone, including people with disabilities, should be respected equally... even though it may be harder to understand them. You should never give up on people. Everyone has something to say!
Sincerely, Brittany 

(A week later, I found out that I'm starting PT school this summer)

 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Brittanys-Message/568881463226368

 

 

Hi, my name is Nicole Stacy, age 17 from Kentucky. Bullying is nothing new to me, I've dealt with it since I started school when I was little. I've always been the "outcast", the "stand alone" type person and of course the way that young peoples minds are so set on the idea of perfection makes them aim there hatred towards the "different" ones. It through me into extreme depression and by the 3rd grade I had begun self-harming. And by the 6th grade I attempted to end everything more time than I can count. I slowly started to realize that it wasn't me, its society, the way parents raise their children, neglect to solve the problems at hand. Freshman year for me was really horrid. My health class was full of people that had drove me to the point I wanted to end something as precious as the life that I have. We of course got on the subject of bullying and I noticed something. Those same people that picked on me were laughing. Talking about kids as young as 6 taking their lives due to the exact things they had done to me, and they were laughing. With the permission of my teacher I took a stand. I shared my experience with the class. The depression, anger, self hate, fear, not being able to feel anything, the feeling of empty ness and feeling like your drowning. How it felt to be ashamed of being in your own skin and how it felt to not value your life anymore. Their were people in tears, including the teacher, but then there of course was the few that seemed as if it meant nothing to them. But the most remarkable thing to me is that the person that bullied me the most in middle school walked up to me after class crying g and gave me a hug, a tight embrace at that, and said they were sorry and to this day they have not said another hateful thing about me nor anyone else. My teacher even asked for me to speak to her college classes to get them to open their eyed to bullying. But my parents are ashamed of what I went through and wouldn't let me take a stand. But not anymore I will take a stand. Its not that i want sympathy nor do i want people to look at me as oh they want the attention. Its that i want to make a change and make sure that less people take their lives over something as sad as bullying. I refuse to let anyone feel alone in this world.

Hi, I'm John, a New York ad guy.

Last year I initiated my own anti-bullying project and within a month got local TV news coverage and international press on it.

Have a look: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h76qEDjnj1k