I stood in front of a mirror, as I got dressed for school and saw myself; my lonely, sad self. I wore a long sleeved black shirt to hide the bruise on my left arm, from when I was shoved into lockers the locker by them. I wore blue pants to hide my scrapped knees, from when I pushed on the tracks for running too slow. I tied my hair into a bun, because the last time I had it down, the guy sitting behind me cut it, because somehow he thought it would be fun for him and for me. I was ready to go to school, a place that was my absolute nightmare.
Who do I tell, what was happening to me because I know that talking about it would only make things worse, for if someone finds out that I talked about them, what they do to me will only get worse. What I go through is unknown, even to my parents. They ask me how it was; the school and I smile and tell them it was good. They ask me why I don’t invite my friends over, I tell them it’s because they’re busy and not the fact that I don’t have any. It hurts me to tell them made up stories about a group of people that are just fragments of my imagination as to how much fun we have or I would like to have, if I had friends in real life.
No matter what I do, I’ll always be their target and there’s no escape from it.
Bullying is a repetitive behavior of being aggressive towards someone, believing that somehow you have power over the other person. This behavior is commonly seen in schools, where people pick on someone who they think is “weak” or an “ill fit” in the institution where they are studying. In 2017 it was reported by the National Center for Education Statistics and Bureau of Justice that, nationwide, about 20% of students aged 12-18 experienced bullying and the fact that very few open up about it is worrisome.
There are three different types of bullying experienced by people or students. One, verbal bullying, where they are called out names, teased and threatened. The next is social bullying; spreading rumors about someone with the intention to embarrass them publicly. Third is physical bullying; where people are hit, pushed or their belonging get taken away or thrown away by bullies. It is important to understand that is act or behavior can be traumatic for people and scars them emotionally, affecting their mental health. Schools should take special measures to provide students with a safe environment where they can grow; physically and mentally, not hiding away from people who hurt them.
If someone’s hurting you, talk to your parents or your school administration, perhaps a school psychologist, if you have one, because bullying should not be tolerated and measures should be taken to put an end to it.