How many of you were bullied as kids? I know I was. It was horrible. Listening to the news and glancing over magazine covers makes me think about how hard it is to be a kid who maybe doesn't have the newest clothes, or for what ever reason doesn't fit in. I can still remember one girl that my classmates razzed even more than they did me, and I wonder what became of her. They called her horrible names because they said she smelled funny. As for myself, I recall not wearing the latest clothes and being shy. A complete target for kids who liked to pick on me. When I think back, it was a miracle I made it out of junior high school in one piece.
Were you bullied as a kid? How did you get through it? I would love to hear from you.
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I was bullied, mostly in middle school. What a horrible time. I wouldn't go back to middle school if you paid me. For the rest of my high school career I was mostly picked on for being smart. For some reason, when you're black and smart, you're trying to be "white." It's ridiculous. I think I got through it because I realized that those people didn't mean anything to me. Of course, I still have confidence issues and sometimes I still don't know where I fit in, but hey, I'm on my way to getting my PhD right now in biostatistics. Where are those people who picked on me? I have no idea.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right about middle school.Horrors. I totally agree about not ever wanting to go back. The book I am writing now is about bullying and how people's thoughtless actions can result in terrible outcomes. All of the suicides lately in the news speak to this.
ReplyDeleteWe moved around a lot when I was a kid. I felt like I was always the new kid. Top that off with my hand me down clothes and shy nature, and you had a walking target. I remember someone stealing my jacket in graphics class and being goosed as I walked up the very crowded stairwell on the way to class. It was mortifying. It took me a long time to figure out that it didn't matter what they thought. I had my own plans and my own road to travel.
Kudos to you that you were wise enough at that age to know that these kids don't really matter in the long run. Center of self is a hard lesson to learn when you are that young. Your success is the best revenge. You rock!
I hated middle school as well. I was bullied for being smart. People called me stuck-up and full of myself. It seemed like everything I did and said was turned around and used to make me look like the bad person. Other girls threatened to beat me up for seemingly no reason. One of the girls I considered a close friend shared a very personal note I wrote (about being sexually harrassed by another student) with our entire Algebra class.
ReplyDeleteWhen I got to high school, I was in advanced classes with other people like me. It helped, but I could not wait to graduate and move away to college, where I could really find people I connected with and shared similar experiences and intersts. I should finish getting my PhD in math by May of 2012.
I would like to say that I grew up and forgave those who treated me poorly. Some I could; some I couldn't. As for the girl who mortified me, well, karma is a bitch.
I was bullied in elementary school more than middle school. I remember every one of my tormenters! I also cannot forgive all my bullies. But one thing they did was light a fire of ambition under me. Funny how I see that succeeding in life is the best revenge. Seems to be so in all the posts here.
ReplyDeleteKudos to all who posted here, and keep going with your achievements!
You are all inspirations to every kid who is enduring this right now. Spread the word that things do get better. Thanks for the postings. Pass this article along to let kids know that there is light at the end of middle school or high school, and it doesn't have to be a train. Life is what you make it, and the only thing you can control is how you react when bad things happen.
ReplyDeleteI choose to use the bad things that happened to me in my writing. Lots of fodder for a gritty YA novel or two.
Help stop the bullying. Let kids know they have our support.
Hi Dana , Im actually putting together an anthology a bit like the chicken soup books for Teens about Bullying -at about 150 pages so far of fiction/non-fiction stories and poetry.
ReplyDeletePaulazone@live.com
BTW am a follower :)