Personal Narrative: The Norm

The norm may not always be the right way to go. I no longer want to be a part of a popular or important group of people, if I feel that what the group is doing or believes in is wrong, even if it means I'm not a part of the norm. I am not afraid to stand out on my own. I have challenged this belief for many years. When I was in elementary school, I was bullied by a group of girls that I hung with, looked up to and idolized. Because I was too afraid to stand up for myself, I allowed them to pick me a part and make me feel inferior to them. I actually started to believe that I was ugly and dumb and not as smart as they were. I attended a very small rural elementary school and I was limited to very few other children to hang with and befriend. At the time I did not realize that a majority of the children in my school were on the free or reduced meal program, came from broken families, had parents in prison, or lived with parents who were drug addicts and/or …show more content…
I did not realize then that those children were not better than me, but rather were not taught to be kind or maybe took their home life frustrations out on me. My mother would often tell me that once I got to middle school things would be different, because I would have a larger array of children to hang with and would not be limited to having to be in a group of mean girls who treated me inferior. My mother also told me that those girls were no better than me and would lift me up and remind me that I was worth something. She helped me realize that I did not have to hang with these girls, just because they were the norm and were followed or looked up to by a majority of the other girls in my class. I then started to play with and hang with the boys and many of the boys became my best