BULLIED

Story 246

What type of bullying did you experience (cyberbullying, teasing, name calling, physical altercations, etc)?

-mostly name calling and physical altercations. In 8th grade I was called "Five Dollar Footlong" because a rumor was started that I gave a classmate a BJ for $5, and he claimed to have a larger-than-average penis. People started to spread the rumor and then guys started to come up to me in the halls asking me to come over to their houses later, because they were horny. They asked me to give them a discount, or they offered to pay me more than $5, they offered to pay me $100 to let them see touch me or have their way with me, one told me he would give me a dollar if I flashed him, $5 for a BJ, and $15 for a strip tease.

In reality, I had never given or accepted sexual favors for money or anything else. I was a virgin. The person who started the rumor was an ex boyfriend of mine who I had met the previous year, and broken up with after he took me to his friends house and tried to have sex with me. I told him no several times and finally managed to get away from him and get back home. He was pissed off that I wouldn't engage in any sexual activity with him, including foreplay, because I was a virgin to both.

The rumor followed me into my freshman year of high school, when people started calling me preggers. The bullying from the previous year has caused me a lot of stress and I has gained a few pounds. People took that as a sign that I was inevitably pregnant, since, you know, I was such a whore.

Finally the rumor was squashed by a pack of kind hearted classmates and a few amazing teachers and guidance councelors.

How old were you when the bullying started?

-8th grade

Who bullied you (please be vague by using terms such as old friend, classmate, neighbor, etc.)?

-ex boyfriend, classmates, random students.

How did you feel while you were being bullied?

-obviously like shit. I felt pathetic for not being able to stand up for myself and I felt like trash because no one stood up for me either, at first.

How did you feel after being bullied?

-the insecurities I developed due to my bullying are still with me today, and that's been 8 years ago now. Perhaps I'll always feel insecure. I felt better after I stopped hearing people call me type names. I still have trust issues and self harm issues and I have panic attacks, but I've gotten most of it under control, since I moved away from my hometown after graduating high school.

Have you told anyone you know that you were bullied?

-Yes, I've told a few people close to me. My parents, a few close friends.

Why/why not?

-I felt like a few people needed to know about it, my current boyfriend, for example. We had a conversation about being bullied one night while we were laying in bed. He was an antisocial teenager, bullied for playing MMORPG's in his free time (because being a "geek" is soooooo horrifying...)

How long were you bullied for?

-I was only seriously bullied for about 2 years. But it was enough to negatively impact my life and lead me on to a string of bad decisions.

No, I'm no longer bullied. I've grown up, moved away from my small, bigoted, hometown. Now I'm living in a more open minded environment, surrounded by people I love. And life is good.