I’ll give you this much. For a while, you had me down and even managed to keep me there during school. I forgot who I was. Or maybe without meaning to, I allowed you to take the knowledge of who I was from me. You even succeeded in making me out to be the troubled one.
And while you bullied, harassed, name-called, slut-shamed, shoved, tripped, jumped, beat, choked, and kicked me- even threatened my life with a blade on two different occasions; I was told to ignore it, to toughen up, and not to be a snitch or a crybaby.
Even worse, people also dared to tell me to be thankful that the abuse wasn’t worse or just to take it in silence.
But as you can see, it didn’t last. You couldn’t keep me in your little box and your vacuum. And once I got away from you, I began to flourish.
In the end, you only made a fighter out of me. What you did is make a winner out of me. You ended up making me more determined to love myself. The girl who used to finish last now finishes first. Why? Because I put myself first.
When you all attacked me, others judged me unfairly and brutalized me- even those who were bystanders and those I thought were friends. And that was worse because the betrayal was more devastating than the bullying and mobbing itself.
Oh, yes. I’ll admit. People, even a few school staff, only scoffed when I went to them for help and tried to explain to them what I was going through. When I needed a listening ear and a shoulder to lean and cry on, they only ignored me. When I needed someone to care, understand, and make sense of what was happening, they abandoned me. Therefore, for a while, you won.
I even went against my better judgment and asked many of you why. Not even you could give me a straight answer, which should’ve been my first clue that none of you knew and, more than likely, still don’t know why you acted so ignorant and stupid.
Though I was only a kid and didn’t realize it back then, it’s only proof that you had no excuse nor justification for the simple way you behaved. And the most astonishing part was you didn’t need any evidence of any wrongdoing on my part to rally the school to your side.
This was all too familiar with me.
I’m so sorry, Michael. I hope to goodness I didn’t trigger you. 😮
No, because like you, I learned from it. We are both survivors of a horrendous period in our lives.
Awesome, Michael! I’m so proud of you! 😀
And I of you.
Freakin A holes!!!! You won girl and they are all probably just as miserable now as they were back then. Proud of you
Awww! Thank you, Bella! This means so much, girl! You’re such a blessing to me and so many others! <3
Ain’t that the truth!
Thank you so much! 💞
🙂
I’m sorry.
sometimes i can’t fathom how anyone can be so blatantly mean and brutal to another soul.
Proud of you for coming out it and sharing with us to raise awareness about bullying. people need to read first hand accounts to take care of their own loved ones.
thank you!
Thank you so much for your kind words! They’re much appreciated. ❤
You’re welcome 🙂
I understand that school bullies are more likely than the average student to succeed professionally as adults. I guess it makes sense, but to me it’s still poetic injustice. …
As a result of not fitting in and being bullied for it, students with ASD usually feel compelled to “camouflage,” a term used to describe their pretending to naturally fit in, which is known to cause their already high anxiety and/or depression levels to worsen. And, of course, this exacerbation also applies to the ASD rate of suicide.
Some bullies do and some don’t. Most of my bullies never went anywhere. A few of them even went to jail.
Sorry you had to go through this…how can someone be so cruel?..but glad to see that you didn’t let the bullies win. All is well that ends well..!!
Absolutely! Thank you so much for your kindness. It’s much appreciated. 😊❤
You have a fantastic eye for information! You always know exactly how to make me really feel better.
I’m glad to hear this. Thank you so much.