Personal Essay: How Bullying Changed My Life

“You won’t amount to anything…you’re too small…you can compete with us”. For my whole life I have been hearing those words from my peers to adults, coaches and the list goes on. During my school career it was a breeze until I got to middle school. Once I hit the sixth grade the name calling and constant judging from the seventh and eighth graders started. However, what really struck me with disbelief was how my “friends” started to treat me, as if joining in on the banter was “cool” and did it to fit in with the older/cooler kids. It was from then on, I carefully chose my friends and put my trust in very few who had earned it. I have experienced, firsthand, what bullying can do to someone whether it was directed towards me or if I was a bystander. Bullying has changed my life, surprisingly, for the better because it has molded my personality and morals in a way that I can be proud of. However, bullying is prevalent in many if not all …show more content…
For me, it was not as serious as it could have been, unlike others who have experienced more physical or harsher verbal abuse by the bully. Fortunately, I was able to conquer my fears of going out and became more outgoing and did not let anything hold me back, whether I was playing sports or at work or just out with friends. Life is too short to be in constant fear or worry. When I got to high school I thought things were going to get worse, but because I was able to overcome, I achieved many of the goals that I strove to reach for like: getting high-honors all four years, winning two-state titles as a three-year starter in baseball, and making memories with friends that accepted me for who I am. In the end I do not regret anything and I believe that with the right support from family and friends anyone can learn to ignore the hate and strive to achieve anything they set their mind