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Topic: Bullies (08/09/04)
TITLE: The Bully By Georgia Gill-Elkins 08/15/04 |
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Mike, the school bully was bigger than myself, he used his strength to hurt me. He had the power to intimidate me, make fun of me, even calling me names. His constant teasing, his threats, and the hitting often became for than I could handle.
He was always acting like he was better than the rest of the class.
I was the smallest one in my third grade class and I had become the brunt of his bullying. He was invading my territory with dominance and he did it deliberately. It was annoying and
his attacks were personal. Every time I saw him I wanted to run away and hide.
Life can be miserable when your being bullied. I felt belittled, alone and frighten. I soon began to cower under his emotional battering. It made me mad that I had to deal with such a person. I tried to get the courage to stand up to him, but my courage was soon defeated.
One afternoon while I was walking in the wood with my grandfather, I told him what was happening. It was then I learned a secret from my grandpa. He told me, "If the bully had nothing to fight about he would then leave you a lone." He also told me a verse from the bible, "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you." Made sense to this third grader, so I set out to treat him like I would want to be treated.
I started being nice to him, thanking him for his comments about my dress or short stature, or what ever. Inside I still wanted to run and hide but I wouldn't let him see my fear. Once I no longer reacted to him in a negative way, and he did not get the reaction he wanted, his bullying stopped. I felt like a winner, because I didn't fight back. I soon got the respect I wanted and we became friends.