Been bullied?

We've all been in a class where the teacher says, "Put up your hand if you've ever been bullied." How many kids usually put up their hand? None. Unfortunately we all know that's not true. We have all been bullied in some form or another, whether it is by a sibling or by a class mate.

If we've all been bullied then why are we so afraid to admit it? Perhaps because we are only focusing on one  reason why people are being bullied, being gay. We often forget about other reasons like being socially awkward, mental capacity, looks, speech patterns, religious views, and so many more reasons than we can fathom.

I would never say that some bullying is more or less important than another. What I will say is that some is not talked about enough. The media does not talk much about bullying unless it has to do with someone being gay. I think that this is a main reason why kids are afraid to admit that they are being bullied. Children don't feel like they can talk about being bullied because they don't think people will listen, believe them, or care. Another fear could also be that talking about it would make it worse.

On top of all the fears that a child may have about talking about being bullied, there are people that think that being bullied is part of growing up. I am hear to say that bullying is NOT part of growing up. Many kids get bullied from a young age and they get bullied all their life but that doesn't make it part of growing up. Being bullied starts at a certain point in time because of an event, effecting the bully or the one being bullied.

When a kid starts to be bullied they change in many ways. Their attitude toward school changes, or life, eating habits can change, grades can drop, and so many more things. Unfortunately people don't pay attention to these signs. I am not saying that if you see any of this that a kid is being bullied but you should be paying enough attention to notice when something is wrong.

When I was younger I was often bullied, but not in a way that most people would notice. I would be alienated from a group of kids, people would say comments that would insult me, and on sports teams people would ignore me. I also had a friend who turned out to be not my friend at all. Never did I think that it would ever stop. But the bullying did stop and I started to notice others being bullied.

I am proud not to admit that I was bullied, but that I allowed myself not to care. It took a lot of will power, friends who were true friends, and a family who I could talk to. I used find myself picking on someone the way that I was bullied. Luckily I put a stop to it and I started using my anger and shame to stand up for others.

The point of my ranting is to say that other reasons for being bullied are put on the back burner. People would rather talk about someone being bullied because they are gay than because they spoke differently. I am not saying that one type of bullying is worse or less important than others. All I want is to make it so that all reasons for being bullied are talked about (even if there are a lot). I want kids not to be ashamed because they were bullied.