The most common misconception when it comes to bullying is that the bully has to be someone whom you have always had clashes with, and over time the conflicts increased and worsened. Many times this is the case, but a bully comes in many different forms, a classmate, a family member, a sibling, or in my case a friend. Yes, a friend someone whom I shared my happiest high school memories with became my bully. The root of the bullying to this day is still unknown to me. It started with degrading remarks, the remarks turned into blackmail, the blackmail evolved into lies, and the lies became vicious rumors.

These rumors made everyone in the school believe that I was a “monster” and a bad person. After these rumors surfaced many of the teachers in my school also began to treat me differently. It was bad enough that my best friend was now my bully, but to make things worse my teachers were now belittling me. While trying to confide in my guidance counselor, she tried to convince me that it was MY fault that I was being bullied. She told me that I must apologize for whatever I had done to my best friend. I was being blamed for the rumors, and the psychological abuse that I was enduring. She said, “if you don’t apologize for what you have done you will be sent home from school every single day until you do”. When she said that, I felt like every bit of my dignity had been ripped away from me. I was told that I could not come back to school until I apologized to MY BULLY! I felt like I had nowhere to turn, nobody believed me. My parents and I decided that the best decision would be for me to transfer to another high school for my senior year. After making this decision I began having thoughts of suicide because I felt like everything I worked so hard for was being snatched away from me.

A year later I graduated high school in the top 10% with a 4.3GPA. I had done it! I had healed and survived! After so many tears, so much anger, so many nights of pondering the same thoughts asking myself why did that have to happen to me. I am now 19 years old and a student in college. Even though the emotional scars still remain I survived, and I am going to continue to strive for greatness.

To any child out there who is a victim of bullying please speak up and speak out until someone hears you. Don’t suffer in silence; your life is too precious to be lost at the hands of a bully. Remember that being bullied is NEVER your fault, and don’t allow anyone to make you believe that it is, because it is not. Speak out not only for yourself but for others who are going through the same torture.