Breaking Bullies

Bullies.

We have all heard stories in the news or in real life of kids being bullied so much that they start believing what is being said, that they don't feel there is a way out, and that they take their own lives. It's heartbreaking. As a parent, you pray that your child will never experience such cruelty.

I was bullied when I was in middle school and high school. People, who I thought were good friends, decided one day that they wanted to hate me. Other "friends" made fun of my swimming, saying I was going to the Special Olympics. I was made fun of for the boy I dated. I just counted down the days until I was out of that too-small town, away from these people who hurt me so much.

Then, I wondered if people, "friends" who I was raised with could think so little of me, say such horrible things would think those things, what would people who didn't know me think???

But, it got better. College was awesome because I found my niche, a group of people who didn't make fun of me. After college, I made amazing friends.

Then, one day, years later, I encountered another bully. This time, I was a parent, a homeowner, living in an awesome neighborhood where we would all meet in the evening and talk outside while our kids ran, playing in between our yards. A neighbor, a person I considered a very good friend, got belligerently drunk one night at a party. She started saying how she never really liked me or felt comfortable around me because I was in a wheelchair. I tried to make sense of this - asking her to clarify. Her answer was just because I was in a wheelchair. Once again, I felt like I was back in high school. How can adults act that way?

I have mentioned on here that I went out of the way to make sure Mason never gets made fun of for having a mom in a wheelchair. It has happened. I'm sure it's happened more than I know of.

Some people say that being bullied is just a fact of life. That getting picked on builds a backbone to make us stronger down the road. Well, I've been down the road - I've gone through a lot in life and being bullied in adulthood still stinks and hurts as much as it did when I was much younger.

So, I can see why there are kids today that get bullied so much that they decide ending their lives would be the only way to end things.

And it absolutely breaks my heart.