My 15th year was the hardest

I have some news that is going to shock you.

I was bullied in high school.

I know this is very difficult information to swallow. After all, I'm fucking fabulous.

But in 1999, the world was a different place. Britney Spears was still a virgin. Friends was the hottest show on television. Bill Clinton was the president. And somewhere Jennifer Fabulous was being treated not so fabulously...

Her name was Sarah. She had a pinched face, like a bulldog. She wore low-cut tops. She hung out with the pot-head skater boys and she desperately wanted to be popular.

Without any warning, this crazy bitch randomly made it her mission in life to ruin mine.

Completely out of the blue, she started harassing me. She yelled racist names at me down the hallway. She made fun of my dresses during class.



I was very confused, because I had never spoken to Sarah before. I honestly didn't even know she existed until she started bothering me.

I ignored her rude remarks, but that only fueled her anger.

After a few months, she started slamming into me in the hallways, pinning me against lockers, and shoving me against people. Her racist slurs became intolerable. She then tried spreading a rumor that I had gotten breast implants in middle school, which thankfully, was so ridiculous, nobody believed it.

I spent almost every day sobbing in bathrooms over her cruelty. My friends were outraged and did everything they could to console me. A couple even tried confronting Sarah, but she started bullying them too and they got scared and backed off.

I went to the principal's office three times to report Sarah that semester. Nothing was done about it. Out of frustration, four of my friends separately reported eye-witness accounts of Sarah's physical and verbal abuse towards me. Still, nothing was done.

At the Spring Dance, Sarah tripped me down a flight of stairs and then she and her friends kicked me while I was crying on the floor.

Again, I went to the principal's office to report her. Nothing.



The following summer, my dad's job got transferred to Ohio and we moved. I think it was a coincidence which might have saved my life. I never saw Sarah again.

I never did tell my parents what happened sophomore year of high school. I was too embarrassed. Looking back, I know I should have told them.

But that doesn't matter. Because I personally went to the principal four times to report Sarah's bullying towards me. I was ignored. The incident was disregarded, no matter how violent it ended up becoming.

That, I believe, is a crime within itself. My school should have protected me. It did not.

It breaks my heart to know that my experience is just one of millions in this world. Middle schools and high schools are little mini-hells, no matter what country. Teenagers can be evil. And there are educators who turn a blind eye, because they think bullying is a trivial matter.

I keep thinking, what if I hadn't moved to Ohio? What if I had been a weaker person?

Teenagers make stupid, rash decisions when they're upset, you know.

Plus, there are more and more news reports of bullying spiraling out of control these days, causing tragedies.



I can't even imagine encountering bullying now, with Facebook and texting added to the mix.

Oh, and it's funny, but a few years ago, I actually was contacted by one of Sarah's closest friends via Facebook. She wrote me a message apologizing for taking part in the bullying and she also finally gave me the reason Sarah had decided to torture me all year long.

Apparently Sarah had discovered that the boy she liked had a crush on me.

Insert eye-roll here.