When I was a little girl, there was this boy that lived in my apartment complex. I am labeling him Tim out of respect to uphold his privacy. Tim had never liked me through the years that I knew him. He was friends with my friend Max, occasionally we'd run into each other, but that was all I ever saw of him. One day, Max invited me to Tim's house. Knowing fully well that Tim didn't like me, I said no. With a little pestering, Max got me to budge and I went to Tim's. I had been there a while and things were going fine until something happened. Tim openly showed how much he hated me by taking a lighter to my hair. I was scared to death. I ran home crying. I knew I shouldn't have gone. I, the victim, felt guilty for going into the situation. Also, when my mom went to confront Tim's mother, I felt guilty for it. I was guilty for no reason. I was also nervous. Nervous of new people, but I didn't show it. Over time, I stopped thinking about it, but there are still times where I think about that day and know I wouldn't feel so guilty for things that aren't my fault if Tim hadn't done what he did to me.

Even after that, I went through a phase of bullying. I had a friend, let's call her Tina, that had a 'holier than thou' personality and I followed her lead. I am not blaming her for my actions. In middle school, I would strut around insulting people. I'd pick on people who were 'loners' or were overweight. I am not proud of this. Tina moved away and I was back with my old friends. I had stopped bullying people, but then something came up. One of my teachers pulled me aside after class. She had received an e-mail from me that was not only vulgar, but disrespectful in a way I had never been. She, and the few other teachers that were sent similar e-mails under my name, knew better than to think it was me. We soon found out that the person who had sent these e-mails was Tina. I couldn't believe it, but what was I to expect, she was a bully too. I was sad for a long time after that. I thought about it and knew it was karma for how I had been treating others. I have been working off my actions since. I have remedied my relationships with those I have bullied, but I still feel indebted to them and to myself.

Why does something so negative exist? There are so many better alternatives to bullying to release negative energy, so why must we hurt each other? We should help each other. The day everyone is on good terms will be the day the world ends, at this rate. We have the power to make it come beforehand. Let's do it.