We were in class getting ready to start, when a boy in my class leaned over to me and called me a hurtful name that I won’t repeat now. At first I was shocked. Why did he call me that? I put it off and tried to pay attention in class, until he called me the name again. Throughout the day he called me the same rude word multiple times. Before lunch, I finally decided to tell the teacher. I was shocked that someone would call me a horrible name. The teacher dealt with it, and that was that. But little did I know, that wouldn’t be the last time I experienced bullying.

I was bullied from 3rd grade to 5th grade. The same guy for those three years of taunting and name calling. Every single day he would call me names, shout at me from across the playground and mock and belittle everything I said.

When he first started bullying me, I told the teacher right away. She listened to me, went to the principal about it and the boy was punished. It’ll be over now, right?

I was so wrong to make that assumption.

I don’t remember much of what happened between the bully and I in 4th grade, but I do remember what happened in 5th grade. That year was the worst year of my entire life because of him. And this time, even when I got the teacher involved, he didn’t leave me alone.

During the year, I became so afraid of the bully, that I completely clammed up and didn’t talk during class. I became a major introvert and never had any confidence. He took from me what confidence I had and made me feel as though i had no power at all.

Two weeks before summer break, it was nice outside so our teacher decided to let us play before the end of the day. My friends and I decided to go play a game on the pavement, but to get there, we had to walk by the bully. When I walked by him he didn’t say anything at first. I thought that maybe he would let me go today.

He didn’t ignore me that day. He looked at me and called me a hurtful name that I can no longer remember.  That was the first time he had made me cry.

Because he bullied me all year and made me cry, he got out of school suspension for bullying. When he was punished with such extremity, I felt happy in a weird way. I felt so free and that I had gained my confidence back.

My experiences with bullying have changed who I am today. I have learned to stand up to those who think they can be mean to others just because they can. During those few years in grade school I felt powerless and that everything I said was stupid. But I quickly learned that I wasn’t stupid or powerless. If my history with bullying has taught me one thing, that’s that no one has any right to hold power over me.