In elementary school, I was bullied by the older kids. I don’t remember all of it but I do remember being called ‘bitch’ and walking home one day and these boys picking on me and ended up shoving me into the road. I was bleeding and crying as I walked the rest of the way home to have my parents and even my grandmother who came to visit worried about me. I remember being made fun of because I liked things that others didn’t like. I had hair that was down past my waist and to the middle of my butt and I was even bullied into cutting it short because the mean girl of the class would constantly put me down and tell me that I should. I moved away after sixth grade and I found out who my true friends were. People who I thought were my friends talked about me behind my back and call me names or start rumors about me that weren’t true.

In middle school and high school, the bullying didn’t stop. It just shifted to a different direction. I was made fun of because of how I dressed, what I liked, and even sometimes who I hung out with. I was even put down by my supposed friend about my chest being small and/or smaller than hers and also that I was still a virgin in high school.

Even in college, I got bullied just a bit. The girl from high school came around again and continued to try to make jokes about me from high school. I brushed them off then but it would get to me later on when I was by myself. I was also emotionally abused by a significant other. The scars from everything run deep and even though I’m a confident person on the outside and sometimes on the inside, I still hurt and now have confidence and self-esteem issues now that I’m dealing with. Shopping for clothes depresses me sometimes to the point where I begin to cry. I constantly worry about things I shouldn’t worry about. But I have people who love me and help me to get better and love myself more. I want bullying to end forever.

- Ali S.