I experienced different kinds of bullying while I was growing up. It was nothing compared to some of the stories I've read in this book, but it effected me nonetheless. One of the biggest things I was bullied about was my weight. I wasn't obese, but I was overweight ... chubby, if you will. I've always been insecure about my weight, but people pointing it out in a non-helpful way didn't make me feel any better, especially since I wasn't unhealthy (in the sense that I've been an athlete most of my life).

There is one particularly hurtful incident that I still think about sometimes. It was at a basketball game. The game had just ended, and my team had won. A girl on the other team was still trying to shoot the ball over my head for a close basket, nearly knocking me over in the process. So I told her "the game is over," as I regained my balance.

Her response? "Shut up!"

Looking back, I probably should have shut up ... but I was around twelve years old then, and I thought being told to shut up to your face was one of the most disrespectful things someone could do to you.

So, I just said, "No."

I wasn't looking for a fight or anything, so I started walking away. But then she shouts. "You're fat!"

That got my attention, I turned around and just glared at her. Her coach then came over and told us to both just go over to our teams, so I just walked away.

I'm not sure what my weight had to do with basketball ... so that hurt. But oh well, I guess it was my fault for not just walking away in the first place.

Although this happened at a summer camp, I still saw that girl all the time because we went to school together. Fortunately, nothing ever happened, and it was a one-time thing ... but I tell that story in hopes that other overweight girls realize that if someone's only (irrelevant) comeback is to point out your body shape, don't sweat it.

Now the real bullying about my weight happened once I reached high school. The worse part was that it came from two guys who were in my group of friends. The first guy, GUY1, was kind of a jerk; he liked to gossip, talk about people behind their backs, and say rude, hurtful things under his breath. The second guy, GUY2, liked to laugh at a lot of things, especially things that were hurtful and inappropriate about someone else. Anyway, I picked up on a few times when GUY1 made some comment about my weight; I forget the situations that triggered him to say them, but as if right on cue, GUY2 would laugh whenever he was around to hear them.

Well, I remember one day at lunch, GUY1 "softly" made yet other comment about my weight. GUY2 was sitting next to him, so of course he laughed once he heard it; I was sitting across the table from them, and yet I heard it too. You probably can't tell from my story thus far, but I'm usually a shy person who doesn't like confrontation. And yet, something came over me that day--my embarrassment was overtaken by my being fed up with being disrespected. So, I looked GUY1 straight in the eye and said, "I heard that." Those three words was all it took to wipe the smirk off GUY1's face. Holding his feet to the fire seemed to do the trick, because I never heard GUY1 say something nasty about me ever again (he probably said stuff about me behind my back, but who can control that, right?).

I guess the moral of my story is to let everyone know--whether you're picked on for how you look, how you walk, how you talk, or even how you think--it's okay to stick up for yourself. Sometimes it will work, and sometimes it won't; but just remember that you have the right to say that you don't like being mistreated.

My advice is to stick up for yourself! I don't condone violence, but if you need to defend yourself, then you have every right to defend yourself, whether that's verbally or physically. Also, be proud of who you are, and love yourself. I love you all. Thanks for reading.