Tell Me Something Tuesday #14

      Wow. Haven't done this in a while, so I guess I should start up again.
    This is another Tell Me Something Tuesday hosted by Cambria Hebert. Where we answers questions that Cam thinks up. Sound like fun?

This week's question: Were you bullied in school? How do you think bullying has charged over the years – do you think it’s worse now than it was a few years ago?

This happens to be pretty personal to me, because yes, I was, in fact, bullied in school. And this post may take longer than usual, because I may have to stop, and cry. Sorry, if I begin to rant.

It started in second grade. My family moved, so I started at a new school in a new classroom midway thru the school year. I wish I could say that the kids were nice to me, and that I made lots of friends quickly, but they weren't, and I didn't.
Always picked last for everything, and each year the names got worse. And I was often treated like I had some sort of disease.
I guess it was because I was the new girl, and I was also a downright goody-two-shoes. Don't get me wrong, I had a few friends, though we were an odd little bunch.

My sixth grade year, my friends got tired of me picked on. They told me to go to the office, but  never did. I didn't want to be a tattle-tale. So they took matters into their own hands; they went and got the VP. She had them gather all my bullies together, and she sat them down. All of them got suspended and lost recess the following week, and she told them, if any of them did anything else to hurt me, they'd have to deal with her.
They all were pretty ticked at me, but they didn't touch again, well, not that year anyway. In my yearbook, I got apologizes from most of them.

I had to school summer a couple of times. I rode the bus, because it was free and my mom didn't want to take me to school in the summer.
At the bus stop, two boys took notice of me. At first, they called me names, but when I didn't respond, they tried something else to get my attention.
Around my home pine trees grow all over, and all year round, they drop pinecones about the size your fist. I learned that summer what it felt like to be hit with one of those.
So I learned to be a little late to the bus stop in the morning, and to get away from it as fast as possible.
One day, the bus driver caught them. I don't know what she did, but they never picked up another pinecone.
And no, I never told my parents any of this.

In middle school, it was probably the worst. All my friends went to different schools, and somehow most of my old bullies went to mine. I made a few new friends, but I also made new bullies too.

I spent most of my time alone, and the librarian got to know me pretty well, since I spent nearly all my lunches in the library. I guess I figured people in books couldn't hurt me, that's where I turned.

The teasing got worse, especially, with one girl, Seleana. We had two classes to together in seventh grade, and three in eighth.
One day, coming out of class, going to lunch, she was stepping on my heals. I turned around and grabbed her arm, to keep myself from punching her in the nose.
She slapped me acrossed the face. I turned away quickly and walked away. I didn't want she to know that she had made me cry.
The librarian saw the red handprint on my face, and told the VP.
Seleana and I were both called in. After some dicussion, it was decided that we would both get on-site; she for slapping me, me for grabbing her arm. I'd never gotten anything higher than detention before so I was distraught. And it would have remained that way, except Seleana mouthed off in front of the VP. So I only got detention, and she got suspended.
After that, she continued to tease me, but she never physically touched me again.
In eighth grade, leaving art class, I had blue paint pushed into my shirt. Accidental? No, not this time. The girl stood back and laughed.

I showed my art teacher. He wrote a note for my next class, and sent me to the office to get a new shirt. I spent a good 15-20 minutes trying to wash out my shirt, but the paint never came out.
But I didn't see the girl in class for the next couple of days, and when she did come back, she ignored me as best she could.
High school wasn't horrible. I was teased in my freshman year, but I learned to play along. I guess they realized they were getting to me, so they stopped.

Seleana went to the same high school as me, but she simply ignored me, as did most. Many of my middle school friends went to the same high school. I spent some time with them, but I was mostly a loner and wanderer.
Junior year, I got hurt and betrayed by someone I'd come to know as a friend. I won't go into it, because it still hurts too bad.
Did I ever cut myself? No. Think of susicide? Maybe, but those kinds of thoughts didn't stay long, because I know who I am, even if others don't.

Has bullying changed in the modern world? I really can't say. I only left high school 3 years ago. But I would guess yes, it has.
The other day I got called a dim wit and worse on facebook for my poticial views. Which I say, they should mind thier own business about, but that's just my thinking.

But if you want to help those who are bullied, start by looking at the kids that are too quiet. They may be smiling, but ask yourself, "Does the smile reach their eyes?"

Something to think about.