Have any of you dealt with bullying or have children dealing with it?
When I was younger I was an easy target. Buck teeth with a gap (any one else wear an expander when they were younger?), glasses on eyes that were too far apart on my head (thank goodness I finally grew into those), and on top of that I was a late bloomer. Not many girls get their boobs in college, I did.When I was in high school there were a few girls who made my life a living hell. There was one main girl and then her friends or followers.During this time, I was afraid to go to school and it made me physically sick to even think about running into them. It would also make me sick to learn about the latest rumor that would have been spread for that day. I don't know why I was always so surprised that people believed every word that was spread! I guess the bad is easier to believe then the good even when dealing with other people. Shame on all of us. There were days she would scream names at me down the halls, it was humiliating and scary all at the same time. I choose to ignore and keep my head down. This did not make it stop.At one point it got so bad I had to take out a restraining order on her because the threats became more physical and she charged her car at me to scare me while I was walking thorough the school parking lot. It worked. At this point they all backed off. I was very lucky it ended there. It was about 7 months of my life and I am lucky prior to this experience people just made fun of my looks. Being laughed at makes you go home and cry, but it also makes you laugh with them and then they move on. At least that's what happened with me. Thank God that was the extent of me being bullied. And to be honest, that is NOTHING compared to what kids are going through these days. Now kids are litterly loosing their lives because of bullying. This needs to stop NOW!As a mother of two children I am horrified of what is to come for them. I tell my kids all the time to treat others how they want to be treated. I'm not sure the lesson is sinking in as they are still young, but better to start early and get them on the right path of how to treat both friends and non friends alike! There are many useful tips of how to handle, stop, and even prevent bullying and cyber bullying at www.stopbullying.gov . Use this resourse people, it's a great one! Join me and take the pledge. All you need to do is add your name to this list:
*Thanks to TakePart for sponsoring today's discussion
