Samantha is fifteenth years old, and a Freshmen in high school. No friends, no money, nothing, she has nothing. She goes to school, and she gets made fun of. The "cool" kids make fun of the clothes she wears. They say she shops at Goodwill, and that she stinks. The "popular" girls push her in the halls, and call her names. Samantha just keeps her emotions hidden. Everyone in the school, but a few, hate her. They could care less if she killed herself. They only care about themselves and their "cool" image.
Back home life is no better for young Samantha. Her mother yells at her, and her father beats her. The dad works a 50 hour a week job, and he takes the stress out on her. Her eighteen year old brother is the only thing in her life that makes her smile. He loves her and tries to take care of his little sister, the best that he can. He tried to get custody of her but the court said she was fine where she lived. She stays locked in her room all day, it is her sanctuary. Here she reads books, and listens to music. Anything to get her a way from her hell on earth, even for a second.
Samantha wonders what the point is of life. She is depressed, school is hell. Home is hell.... At school, Brad, the Quarterback, walks up to her and asks her to the dance. She says yes, but he responds "HA, like I would take YOU to the dance! You should just go kill yourself, you are worthless!" Everyone in the hall overhears and begins to laugh at her. She runs down the hall in tears.....
At home, her father asks her why she got a B on her Biology exam. "Samantha, you are a disappointment to this family, you are good for nothing!" He smacks her across her face. Her mother comes up and says "Samantha, you better get an A on your next exam, or you will be punished.. now go to your room, no dinner for you!" Samantha runs to her room and jumps on to her bed. She begins to sob as she covers her face in her pillows. Her fuse has been lit, she is a ticking time bomb now. She can do nothing right, no one likes her, why should she live another day?
She walks into the bathroom late at night, everyone in the house is asleep. Samantha opens the medicine cabinet and grabs her mothers bottle of Ultram. She opens the bottle and dumps the pills on to the sink. A handful is all it will take, she swallows 20 of them. One last glance at her reflection in the mirror.....
Samantha goes back to her bedroom, it will all be over soon enough. As she sits in her room, she begins to cry. Everyone want's her dead, so they will be pleased. Her skin starts feeling cold, and her young heart begins to slow down. She begins to feel lightheaded and dizzy, soon it will be all over. No more abuse from her family and those at her school. Samantha will no longer have to endure her hellish life.
Samantha tries to stand up, she can hardly move. She falls and hits the ground hard. As she looks up, she sees her phone. She tries to reach for it and eventually knocks it over. The phone crashes beside her, and she dials her brother. He answers, and knows right away something terrible has happened. He rushes over to the house and finds her unconscious on the floor. He picks her up in his arms and rushes her to the hospital, she cant die, she is too young to die, he says.
The doctor walks in to the waiting room and delivers the news to her brother, it is too late, she has passed on. Her brother begins to cry, but suddenly hears his name called out. He see's his father walking down the hall towards him. That bastard helped kill her, he says in his mind. "What happened, Jake? We saw you rush out of the house with Samantha in your arms, is she ok?" Jake stands up and approaches his father. "You killed her, you fucking bastard!" Jake reaches back and lays his father out with one punch. He gets on top of his father and beats him. Blood begins to spill out of his father's forehead. He has been busted open. Jake's mother yells for help, but by the time security gets to Jake, it is too late. His father lays on the floor in a pool of blood.
Jake is taken out of the hospital in handcuffs, this family has lost two tonight. Young Samantha took her life, and her father lost his. He deserved what happened to him, Samantha did not. Jake sits in the police cruiser, and cry's. He lost his little sister tonight, all because of her father. The father is dead too, but Jake feels he did the right thing.... tonight a family is torn a part, there will be no happy endings this time.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Answered Prayers
He walks in the house, another day of work behind him. He does not get the purpose anymore. He tries to support his family but every day he gets knocked flat on his ass. Mortgages he cant pay, credit cards maxed out, and all those high interest loans have came back to bit him in the ass. Working overtime, no time for the family. Work is all he knows, yet that alone does not solve his problems. Cant afford to put gas in the tank, barely enough to put clothes on his daughters back. On a good night there’s food on the table, other nights they rely on family for dinner.
At school, the daughter is made fun of. Shes poor, nothing but a worthless skank. Everyone hates her, and those who do try to befriend her are considered the outcast of the school. She gets pushed in the halls, spit on, and called names. She sits alone at lunch, and people make fun of her because she gets free lunch, because her family can’t afford it. She hates school and just wishes she was invisible because then no one would see her and she would not have to suffer this hell she endures each day.
The wife sits at the house, waiting for her husband to come home from work. She remembers when life was going well, she too had a job. However, in the recession she was laid off. Since then, they have been pinching pennies, both doing what they can for their daughter. She does odd jobs, like cutting grass for neighbors or babysitting. Yet, that still is not enough. She knows they are drowning in endless debt.
At work, the husband brushes the sweet off his face. Working in the hot sun, he can feel the heat. Its 102 today, but he tries to think positive. After all, it was 105 yesterday. The building is almost done. Some people would be happy with that, but not him. After this job is done, he’ll have to search long and hard just to make ends meet.
The daughter is walking home from school, and some of the rich kids pull up and call her names. They think they are better then her, simply because their parents have money in the bank. She is tired of their shit, and cusses them out. Big mistake, as two of the girls get out of the car and chase her down. They beat her until her face is bloodied and busted open. She cries for help, but no one comes to her aid. Some of her classmates watch as she is being jumped by the mean girls. Why won’t someone save her?
It’s almost 4 now; the daughter will be home any second. The mother has a present. It is not much, but at least they were able to get her a gift for her birthday this year. It’s 5 after 4, where is she? At 10 after, the daughter walks in crying. Her mother rushes to comfort her. She asks her daughter what’s wrong. The daughter says nothing, and rushes upstairs. The mother decides to wait to give the kid the gift that she and the kid’s dad bought for her birthday. She rushes upstairs to check on her, but her daughter locked the door. The kid tells her to go away, and the mother decides it’s best to give her some time. What the hell happened?
The job is finished. The father is pretty upset that he won’t have work until the next job comes in. His job foreman approaches him with some shocking news. The supervisor is impressed with his work ethic and they want to offer him a position in their union, along with a bonus. The husband thanks the man and accepts their offer. Finally, life will be better for his family. He rushes home to tell his family the news, God answered their prayers.
The daughter lies in bed, crying because she has been through so much today. Its her birthday after all! She is tired of having to endure hell at school day in and day out. She tried telling her teacher and principle but they would not listen. Kids will be kids, they say. Today it ends, she says. She opens her dresser, and pulls the rope of death out. She ties the rope around the vent and hangs it. She steps onto a chair and ties it around her neck. This is it, those girls will not torture me anymore, she thinks to herself. She wraps it around the back of her neck, and tightens it. This is it, she kicks the chair out from under her.
The mother sits on the couch, crying. She thinks about how hard she tried to give her daughter this gift. She will enjoy it after all. Sure it’s a old used car, but it’s a car none the less. She won’t have to walk to school anymore, now she can drive. Her and her husband made many sacrifices just to give her this gift for her 16th birthday. She decides to go check on her daughter; it’s been 30 minutes now. Surely she has calmed down. She knocks on the door, no answer. The mother thinks she went to sleep, but is worried so she gets the key and unlocks the door. As she opens the door, she sees her lifeless daughter hanging there…
The husband is on his way home and can’t wait to tell his family the news. Life will be better for them, and there prayers have finally been answered. God has provided for his family after all. They won’t have to suffer anymore! As he goes around the curve, he gets stuck in traffic. Up ahead, he sees the lights flashing. Most have been a wreck he thinks. However as traffic forces its way forward he sees where the lights are. They are at his house! He ditches his truck in the traffic, and runs on foot to his house. He sees his wife who is in tears. He sees the EMT’s coming out of the house with someone covered in a blanket on the cot. He runs over, and lifts the sheet. It’s his daughter, who turned 16 today. He sees the lifeless expression on her face, and falls to the ground.
At school, the daughter is made fun of. Shes poor, nothing but a worthless skank. Everyone hates her, and those who do try to befriend her are considered the outcast of the school. She gets pushed in the halls, spit on, and called names. She sits alone at lunch, and people make fun of her because she gets free lunch, because her family can’t afford it. She hates school and just wishes she was invisible because then no one would see her and she would not have to suffer this hell she endures each day.
The wife sits at the house, waiting for her husband to come home from work. She remembers when life was going well, she too had a job. However, in the recession she was laid off. Since then, they have been pinching pennies, both doing what they can for their daughter. She does odd jobs, like cutting grass for neighbors or babysitting. Yet, that still is not enough. She knows they are drowning in endless debt.
At work, the husband brushes the sweet off his face. Working in the hot sun, he can feel the heat. Its 102 today, but he tries to think positive. After all, it was 105 yesterday. The building is almost done. Some people would be happy with that, but not him. After this job is done, he’ll have to search long and hard just to make ends meet.
The daughter is walking home from school, and some of the rich kids pull up and call her names. They think they are better then her, simply because their parents have money in the bank. She is tired of their shit, and cusses them out. Big mistake, as two of the girls get out of the car and chase her down. They beat her until her face is bloodied and busted open. She cries for help, but no one comes to her aid. Some of her classmates watch as she is being jumped by the mean girls. Why won’t someone save her?
It’s almost 4 now; the daughter will be home any second. The mother has a present. It is not much, but at least they were able to get her a gift for her birthday this year. It’s 5 after 4, where is she? At 10 after, the daughter walks in crying. Her mother rushes to comfort her. She asks her daughter what’s wrong. The daughter says nothing, and rushes upstairs. The mother decides to wait to give the kid the gift that she and the kid’s dad bought for her birthday. She rushes upstairs to check on her, but her daughter locked the door. The kid tells her to go away, and the mother decides it’s best to give her some time. What the hell happened?
The job is finished. The father is pretty upset that he won’t have work until the next job comes in. His job foreman approaches him with some shocking news. The supervisor is impressed with his work ethic and they want to offer him a position in their union, along with a bonus. The husband thanks the man and accepts their offer. Finally, life will be better for his family. He rushes home to tell his family the news, God answered their prayers.
The daughter lies in bed, crying because she has been through so much today. Its her birthday after all! She is tired of having to endure hell at school day in and day out. She tried telling her teacher and principle but they would not listen. Kids will be kids, they say. Today it ends, she says. She opens her dresser, and pulls the rope of death out. She ties the rope around the vent and hangs it. She steps onto a chair and ties it around her neck. This is it, those girls will not torture me anymore, she thinks to herself. She wraps it around the back of her neck, and tightens it. This is it, she kicks the chair out from under her.
The mother sits on the couch, crying. She thinks about how hard she tried to give her daughter this gift. She will enjoy it after all. Sure it’s a old used car, but it’s a car none the less. She won’t have to walk to school anymore, now she can drive. Her and her husband made many sacrifices just to give her this gift for her 16th birthday. She decides to go check on her daughter; it’s been 30 minutes now. Surely she has calmed down. She knocks on the door, no answer. The mother thinks she went to sleep, but is worried so she gets the key and unlocks the door. As she opens the door, she sees her lifeless daughter hanging there…
The husband is on his way home and can’t wait to tell his family the news. Life will be better for them, and there prayers have finally been answered. God has provided for his family after all. They won’t have to suffer anymore! As he goes around the curve, he gets stuck in traffic. Up ahead, he sees the lights flashing. Most have been a wreck he thinks. However as traffic forces its way forward he sees where the lights are. They are at his house! He ditches his truck in the traffic, and runs on foot to his house. He sees his wife who is in tears. He sees the EMT’s coming out of the house with someone covered in a blanket on the cot. He runs over, and lifts the sheet. It’s his daughter, who turned 16 today. He sees the lifeless expression on her face, and falls to the ground.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Bullying: My Story
First off, I want to say that this is the hardest blog I have ever written. I am about to bring up painful childhood memories which since they last took place I have put in the back of my mind. After hearing the story of a brave young girl named Phoebe Prince, I have decided to post my story because it is time that people put a stop to bullying. Before I begin, I would like to say that my thoughts and prayers go out to the friends and family of 15 year old Phoebe Prince who committed suicide after being tremendously bullied by people at her school. I am not going to compare my story, to Phoebe's because I do not know how bad she was tortured at school. It is sad that she made the choice she made, but unless you were in her shoes, you have no right to judge her decision. Now, I will begin to share my life of hell as I was bullied throughout middle and my freshmen year of high school.
The bullying started for me when my mother gave custody of me to my cousins and I was forced to switch schools. I was a 6th grader, and had no clue that me having to switch schools was going to lead to the next four years of my life being a complete hell. I was a shy kid, and I had trouble making friends. I guess this was the result of constantly changing schools due to issues with my birth mother. Anyway, I had been okay and had friends but things would change for me when I first walked into the doors of McKell Middle School.
In 6th grade I joined McKell halfway through the school year.I had no clue about the pain I would soon go through. Now, I had trouble making friends so I became friends with people who the preps at McKell would pick on. This, I believe was one reason I would soon be bullied. I will not mention names of any of the bulliers as I have moved on and even became friends with a few of them. As I progressed through my 6th grade year, I had emotional issues because I was separated from my mother. Honestly, I had issues with personal hygiene as well. My life was torn apart and I guess looking back on it I was a bulls eye for all the bully's at McKell. The bullying in 6th grade mostly occurred in the schools gym. This would be the location of my first and last real fight. A kid in my school was involved in a ATV wreck and some of the people who were picking on me told that kids good friend that I said I hope he would die. I stand by my word that was not the case. The kids friend approached me and started to shove me. I shoved back and from there my first fight began. I basically got my butt kicked, and I think it was at that point that any hope I had of being able to stand up for myself was lost. Me and that guy would become friends later in high school and I hope if he sees this that he knows that I never said anything about his friend. After getting my butt kicked in a fight I further widened the bulls-eye on my back because the other bullies knew I was weaker then them. This incident would basically be the last time I'd take up for myself until my freshmen year of high school.
Now 7th and 8th grade were basically the same for me. I'd be hit, called names, and would have kids draw pictures of me living in a dumpster. Going to the bathroom was always a fear I had because in the restrooms there was no teachers to save me and of course sometimes I ran into bully's in the restrooms. I had no safe refuge in middle school and everywhere I went I'd get picked on by someone. Some teachers would not show up to class on time and while we were in class without teacher supervision I would be hit, spat on, and made fun of. Some classes were better then others. I would soon learn that most of the kids who picked on me were destined to make nothing of themselves and the kids who were nice to me were often the brightest the school had. This would lead to a wise choice I made in high school but I will comment on that later. Like I mentioned earlier, gym class would often be a source of hell for me. I would often be hit in the locker room, and people would take what little money I had. Often, if I gave them money they would leave me alone for that day but the next day they would be right back at it. There were times when I would have 3 or 4 guys who would corner me in the locker room and hit me until I was in the floor. Then they would leave like nothing happened at all. I did make a wise choice in middle school and joined the football team. I would make some strong friendships with people who would take up for me.
While a lot of my torture was received in the classrooms at McKell Middle, I had to suffer every day on the bus. Here, I would constantly be hit by flying pencils, or whatever else they would chose to throw at me. I dreaded that bus ride because as soon as the bus pulled up, I knew it was time to suffer. There were basically a few kids on the bus who were responsible for my hell. The bus driver at the time would do nothing about it. It was horrible having to always look around to see if one of the bullies would be preparing to toss something my way.
In middle school, I developed migraine headaches. I am not sure if they were due to the torture I received or because of my eye problems, nonetheless these headaches would sometimes prove to be my savior. If my migraine was bad enough, I would be allowed to stay home which meant no spending the day being bullied. The torture at school would become so bad that I would start faking some of the migraines just to be able to go a day without being bullied. I think I actually became a bit of a expert at faking those headaches. I had to, because it was the only thing that could save me from hell.
The day I left McKell Middle to go to Greenup County High School, was the day I thought I'd finally be free of bullying. Unfortunately, I was sadly mistaken.
Now I have spoke of the bus rides in middle school, but that was just a appetizer for the hell I would go through on a high school bus. For people who are not familiar with where I went to school I will try and make this brief. I went to a county school which meant I had a 30 minute bus trip to the middle school, where I would spend 30 minutes waiting for a bus to take me the other 20 minutes to the high school. I would spend almost a hour and a half being tortured outside of school, twice a day. Before and after school, made no difference. On the bus, I'd be hit with paper airplanes that were lit on fire (No Joke), pencils, pens, batteries, and soda bottles. While we waiting at the middle school, I'd be punched, kicked, made fun of, and mentally tortured. I feared for my life, and this is something that no one should have to endure. Basically, in between buses we had no adult supervision, something I think McKell finally corrected.
My freshmen year of high school would prove to be my breaking point. The same people who bullied me from McKell continued to bully me in high school. I can say that the kids from Wurtland let me be, which I am very thankful for. I had wised up to the bullys and developed strategies which I would use against them. If someone were to pick on me in class while the teacher was late, I would learn to wait outside for the teacher and then enter the classroom. In between classes I would avoid the hallways which I knew a bully would be in. Sometimes this meant that I would walk upstairs and go back down the other stairs just to avoid being pushed into a locker. I always made sure to keep myself in the eyes of a teacher because they were my only hope. Sadly, in some classes I would be tortured while they sat there and did nothing. I quit football and joined cross country in high school which did not help much with making any friends as we had only 3 people on the team. However, I remained friends with the players from McKell and some of them would often take up for me which was good because I sure did not take up for myself.
Towards the end of my freshmen year I had had enough of giving my money to bullies, just to go a few hours without being tortured. I also was tired of being pushed, kicked, hit, and made fun of on a daily basis. One class was so bad that I would often ask to go to the library because I was safe there. I used the excuse that I wanted to research colleges and sometimes I did that but most of the time it was just my way of escaping hell. I had had enough of a particluar group of bullies and did something I never wanted to do. I confronted my high school counselor about trying to get out of a class. When I explained my reason, she seemed upset. I told her that I had reached my breaking point and that I had two choices. One, I change classes; or two, I take them all on and go down swinging. I told her I was serious and that I would do whatever it takes to defend myself against them. I said if I had to use chairs or whatever I could find to fight them that I would. I think my words to her upset her and she knew I was on the verge of exploding. She confronted a few of my teachers and they did the best they could to prevent the kids from bullying me. It still happened sometimes, but no where near as bad or as often.
I mentioned earlier about the smart kids being the kids that never bothered me. It was this reason that I began constantly taking honors or advanced classes because I knew the bullies would never be enrolled in those classes. This turned out to be a good thing for me because I was never bullied in those classes and I'm sure I got a better education out of it. It is hard for anyone to learn in classrooms that are out of control and one is constantly being picked on.
As far as I can recall through my years of being bullied, I never once thought about committing suicide but there were days when I begged the Lord to end my life so I would no longer have to suffer. I always knew there would be a light at the end of the tunnel and I was in a battle every day to make it to the light. Suicide was a permanent solution to a temporary problem, and I'm glad I never made that choice to end it all.
I would like to say that being bullied those four years made me much stronger emotionally. I never let words hurt me, and I now take up for myself. Thankfully I am in college where people are more mature and no one really seems to bother anyone. I doubt that this is the class for every college student as I'm sure bullying does occur in college it is just I have not witnessed it. I enjoy college and I guess being around students who are actually trying to make something of themselves takes away any urge to bully, unlike in middle and high school where people are forced to attend school.
It is my hope that my story will give others the insight about what a victim of bullying goes through. It is also my hope, that others will do there best to help stomp out bullying. There is so much we can do to help make a kids life in school much better. We can not just stand by and hope that the schools administration will take care of it, because more times then not they have their back turned away from the problem. We can even save lives by working together to fight back against bullying. I hate hearing about kids who just can not endure anymore and make the ultimate choice to end their life. It is so sad, and yet it is 100 percent preventable.
What can we do? First, if you are someone who is or knows someone who is being bullied, you need to speak up as I did. If you remain silent, the problem will continue and it will get worse. You need to tell your parents, or school counselors. You are not being a rat by telling on someone who is bullying you or someone else. You may actually save a life by speaking up for someone who is being bullied. I can not promise you that it will get any better but it is my hope that there are some school officials who really do have a concern for the well being of their students. Parents, if your child says he or she is being bullied, please do everything you can to help your kid. Trust them, because it takes a lot of courage for a kid to tell their parents about their treatment at school. I did not mention this to my family, and if I had then maybe my torture would not have lasted as long. There are other things you can do to prevent bullying. Start a club at school dedicated to stop bullying. Surround yourself with others who will have your back as you have theirs. Contact school officials and ask about their policies towards bullying. Some schools actually have no policies in regards to bullying. If your school is one of those, work to get a policie enforced. Also, if your school does have one, then do everything you can to strengthen the policies.
We can all work together to stop this horrific event that occurs each day at just about every school. Parents, talk to your kids about this. Odds are they know someone who is being bullied and this might be that victims only way of getting help. Kids, talk with other kids and help get the word out about bullies at your school. The more information someone has, the more they are able to deal with and hopefully one day defeat bullying for good. I hope that we never have to see another story like the one Pheobe shared with us. We can not let that girls death be in vein.
Please check out this website today!
http://www.phoebeslaw.com/
Rest in Peace Phoebe Nora Mary Prince (1994-2010)
-Kyle
The bullying started for me when my mother gave custody of me to my cousins and I was forced to switch schools. I was a 6th grader, and had no clue that me having to switch schools was going to lead to the next four years of my life being a complete hell. I was a shy kid, and I had trouble making friends. I guess this was the result of constantly changing schools due to issues with my birth mother. Anyway, I had been okay and had friends but things would change for me when I first walked into the doors of McKell Middle School.
In 6th grade I joined McKell halfway through the school year.I had no clue about the pain I would soon go through. Now, I had trouble making friends so I became friends with people who the preps at McKell would pick on. This, I believe was one reason I would soon be bullied. I will not mention names of any of the bulliers as I have moved on and even became friends with a few of them. As I progressed through my 6th grade year, I had emotional issues because I was separated from my mother. Honestly, I had issues with personal hygiene as well. My life was torn apart and I guess looking back on it I was a bulls eye for all the bully's at McKell. The bullying in 6th grade mostly occurred in the schools gym. This would be the location of my first and last real fight. A kid in my school was involved in a ATV wreck and some of the people who were picking on me told that kids good friend that I said I hope he would die. I stand by my word that was not the case. The kids friend approached me and started to shove me. I shoved back and from there my first fight began. I basically got my butt kicked, and I think it was at that point that any hope I had of being able to stand up for myself was lost. Me and that guy would become friends later in high school and I hope if he sees this that he knows that I never said anything about his friend. After getting my butt kicked in a fight I further widened the bulls-eye on my back because the other bullies knew I was weaker then them. This incident would basically be the last time I'd take up for myself until my freshmen year of high school.
Now 7th and 8th grade were basically the same for me. I'd be hit, called names, and would have kids draw pictures of me living in a dumpster. Going to the bathroom was always a fear I had because in the restrooms there was no teachers to save me and of course sometimes I ran into bully's in the restrooms. I had no safe refuge in middle school and everywhere I went I'd get picked on by someone. Some teachers would not show up to class on time and while we were in class without teacher supervision I would be hit, spat on, and made fun of. Some classes were better then others. I would soon learn that most of the kids who picked on me were destined to make nothing of themselves and the kids who were nice to me were often the brightest the school had. This would lead to a wise choice I made in high school but I will comment on that later. Like I mentioned earlier, gym class would often be a source of hell for me. I would often be hit in the locker room, and people would take what little money I had. Often, if I gave them money they would leave me alone for that day but the next day they would be right back at it. There were times when I would have 3 or 4 guys who would corner me in the locker room and hit me until I was in the floor. Then they would leave like nothing happened at all. I did make a wise choice in middle school and joined the football team. I would make some strong friendships with people who would take up for me.
While a lot of my torture was received in the classrooms at McKell Middle, I had to suffer every day on the bus. Here, I would constantly be hit by flying pencils, or whatever else they would chose to throw at me. I dreaded that bus ride because as soon as the bus pulled up, I knew it was time to suffer. There were basically a few kids on the bus who were responsible for my hell. The bus driver at the time would do nothing about it. It was horrible having to always look around to see if one of the bullies would be preparing to toss something my way.
In middle school, I developed migraine headaches. I am not sure if they were due to the torture I received or because of my eye problems, nonetheless these headaches would sometimes prove to be my savior. If my migraine was bad enough, I would be allowed to stay home which meant no spending the day being bullied. The torture at school would become so bad that I would start faking some of the migraines just to be able to go a day without being bullied. I think I actually became a bit of a expert at faking those headaches. I had to, because it was the only thing that could save me from hell.
The day I left McKell Middle to go to Greenup County High School, was the day I thought I'd finally be free of bullying. Unfortunately, I was sadly mistaken.
Now I have spoke of the bus rides in middle school, but that was just a appetizer for the hell I would go through on a high school bus. For people who are not familiar with where I went to school I will try and make this brief. I went to a county school which meant I had a 30 minute bus trip to the middle school, where I would spend 30 minutes waiting for a bus to take me the other 20 minutes to the high school. I would spend almost a hour and a half being tortured outside of school, twice a day. Before and after school, made no difference. On the bus, I'd be hit with paper airplanes that were lit on fire (No Joke), pencils, pens, batteries, and soda bottles. While we waiting at the middle school, I'd be punched, kicked, made fun of, and mentally tortured. I feared for my life, and this is something that no one should have to endure. Basically, in between buses we had no adult supervision, something I think McKell finally corrected.
My freshmen year of high school would prove to be my breaking point. The same people who bullied me from McKell continued to bully me in high school. I can say that the kids from Wurtland let me be, which I am very thankful for. I had wised up to the bullys and developed strategies which I would use against them. If someone were to pick on me in class while the teacher was late, I would learn to wait outside for the teacher and then enter the classroom. In between classes I would avoid the hallways which I knew a bully would be in. Sometimes this meant that I would walk upstairs and go back down the other stairs just to avoid being pushed into a locker. I always made sure to keep myself in the eyes of a teacher because they were my only hope. Sadly, in some classes I would be tortured while they sat there and did nothing. I quit football and joined cross country in high school which did not help much with making any friends as we had only 3 people on the team. However, I remained friends with the players from McKell and some of them would often take up for me which was good because I sure did not take up for myself.
Towards the end of my freshmen year I had had enough of giving my money to bullies, just to go a few hours without being tortured. I also was tired of being pushed, kicked, hit, and made fun of on a daily basis. One class was so bad that I would often ask to go to the library because I was safe there. I used the excuse that I wanted to research colleges and sometimes I did that but most of the time it was just my way of escaping hell. I had had enough of a particluar group of bullies and did something I never wanted to do. I confronted my high school counselor about trying to get out of a class. When I explained my reason, she seemed upset. I told her that I had reached my breaking point and that I had two choices. One, I change classes; or two, I take them all on and go down swinging. I told her I was serious and that I would do whatever it takes to defend myself against them. I said if I had to use chairs or whatever I could find to fight them that I would. I think my words to her upset her and she knew I was on the verge of exploding. She confronted a few of my teachers and they did the best they could to prevent the kids from bullying me. It still happened sometimes, but no where near as bad or as often.
I mentioned earlier about the smart kids being the kids that never bothered me. It was this reason that I began constantly taking honors or advanced classes because I knew the bullies would never be enrolled in those classes. This turned out to be a good thing for me because I was never bullied in those classes and I'm sure I got a better education out of it. It is hard for anyone to learn in classrooms that are out of control and one is constantly being picked on.
As far as I can recall through my years of being bullied, I never once thought about committing suicide but there were days when I begged the Lord to end my life so I would no longer have to suffer. I always knew there would be a light at the end of the tunnel and I was in a battle every day to make it to the light. Suicide was a permanent solution to a temporary problem, and I'm glad I never made that choice to end it all.
I would like to say that being bullied those four years made me much stronger emotionally. I never let words hurt me, and I now take up for myself. Thankfully I am in college where people are more mature and no one really seems to bother anyone. I doubt that this is the class for every college student as I'm sure bullying does occur in college it is just I have not witnessed it. I enjoy college and I guess being around students who are actually trying to make something of themselves takes away any urge to bully, unlike in middle and high school where people are forced to attend school.
It is my hope that my story will give others the insight about what a victim of bullying goes through. It is also my hope, that others will do there best to help stomp out bullying. There is so much we can do to help make a kids life in school much better. We can not just stand by and hope that the schools administration will take care of it, because more times then not they have their back turned away from the problem. We can even save lives by working together to fight back against bullying. I hate hearing about kids who just can not endure anymore and make the ultimate choice to end their life. It is so sad, and yet it is 100 percent preventable.
What can we do? First, if you are someone who is or knows someone who is being bullied, you need to speak up as I did. If you remain silent, the problem will continue and it will get worse. You need to tell your parents, or school counselors. You are not being a rat by telling on someone who is bullying you or someone else. You may actually save a life by speaking up for someone who is being bullied. I can not promise you that it will get any better but it is my hope that there are some school officials who really do have a concern for the well being of their students. Parents, if your child says he or she is being bullied, please do everything you can to help your kid. Trust them, because it takes a lot of courage for a kid to tell their parents about their treatment at school. I did not mention this to my family, and if I had then maybe my torture would not have lasted as long. There are other things you can do to prevent bullying. Start a club at school dedicated to stop bullying. Surround yourself with others who will have your back as you have theirs. Contact school officials and ask about their policies towards bullying. Some schools actually have no policies in regards to bullying. If your school is one of those, work to get a policie enforced. Also, if your school does have one, then do everything you can to strengthen the policies.
We can all work together to stop this horrific event that occurs each day at just about every school. Parents, talk to your kids about this. Odds are they know someone who is being bullied and this might be that victims only way of getting help. Kids, talk with other kids and help get the word out about bullies at your school. The more information someone has, the more they are able to deal with and hopefully one day defeat bullying for good. I hope that we never have to see another story like the one Pheobe shared with us. We can not let that girls death be in vein.
Please check out this website today!
http://www.phoebeslaw.com/
Rest in Peace Phoebe Nora Mary Prince (1994-2010)
-Kyle
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