paper bullying before cyber

I had to endure bullying when I was about 12 yrs old and living in San Diego where I attended a very large junior high school. I was pushed into a locker, had my bag stolen and grasped in the breast by two boys, it was so bad I ended up in an alternative school where I didn't get proper education. Still haunts me.

Circus Dog

Yes I was a huge target for bullies growing up. I had a small stature as a boy and couldn't say certain words properly. I would get teased about that a lot and I didn't let it show but deep down it really hurt me. I also got bullied by a certain guy who was a couple years older than me who would shove me in the hallway each time I saw him.

I remember crying and sobbing one day in gym class and how ashamed and embarrassed I was because of this.

But fortunately I had the last laugh.... My sophomore year I weighed 135 pounds and a weakling. I got into lifting weights. I cut a picture of all of the bullies from my yearbook and hung their faces all over my weight room wall to remind me of the hurt and pain they caused me.

By my junior year I bulked up to 210 pounds and my senior years I weighed 260 pounds; by far the biggest and strongest guy in school.

The bullying stopped immediatley and whenever I saw bullying going on I showed the bully's how it felt to be bullied.

Not having a dad growiing up had a huge effect on me. It was me, my mom and my two sisters. No male influence at all. I am still effected by that to this day.

Most of the guys who bullied me in school turned out to have miserable lives after high school. They either ended up on drugs or in prison.

hmmmm
I was/am very short so I had my share of razzing about it. I was locked in a locker once when I was asked to get in to see if I fit. I remember a "slam book" going around and one female described me as a real jerk off. That hurt my feelings pretty bad when I read it but others had positive comments. I think these childhood things probably are the source of my low self esteem but I never entertained the thought of being bullied- it was just part of growing up and learning there are a lot of not so nice people in the world. As I have aged I have come to know that these people were the ones that were defective- not me. They built themselves up by putting me down. Not only that- many of these people were actually jealous of me which caused their ugliness.
I am not bothered at all about comment of my height today- in fact I have come to love being petite. I am often perceived to be much younger than I am and I'm sure that is part of it. I think no-one goes unscathed from negative experiences but it matters if you perceive yourself as a victim or if you make it known that you aren't putting up with it.
There was one girl I remember who a group of "the popular" crowd would regularly take into the restroom and force her head in the toilet. I really didn't care for this girl, she was...well...IDK...not someone you wanted to hang out with but I always treated her with the respect she deserved as a human being and thought the behavior of these "popular" people cruel & asinine. I thought they were "real jerk offs". They were and they probably still are. The impossible boss, etc....

what amazed me is that a handful of the girls that teased me in high school wanted to friend me ob Facebook. Do they not remember what they put me through?

And,...............this is why I refuse to participate in any form of social media. At all. The *only* way I participate would be here on this forum. I don't want to put my life out there for the world to see.

I was also a target of bullying growing up. I'm 51 and yes, it still haunts me. Funny, I was thinking about this a few days ago, how I was picked on. It hurts even now. Worse yet, it wasn't just other kids, but some teachers could be mean and petty as well.




M.