On Bullying
By Ryan Donovan of Emerald Cove Middle School in Wellington, 8th Grade
My name is Ryan Donovan and this is my true story of how I have been bullied early on and it has affected me. It has not been easy for me. Telling my story is hard for me because it is embarrassing and I don’t want to think about it. It makes me very angry and sad at the same time. I have always been a little different. I don’t do and say the same things that other kids do. Sometimes that is the reason why I get picked on. It you are not accepted by others, it can lead to kids teasing you, kids being mean or just being left out.
It all started back in my third grade year. I was eight or nine years old at the time and I was the quiet kid. This maybe made me a prime target for bullies. I had little to no friends back then compared to now. But, otherwise I was alone for being bullied. I really try to be everyone’s friend. I also try to forgive those who are mean to me. It doesn’t work being the good guy. At first, I would not say anything. Then, I would tell teachers, guidance counselors, and even the principal. The kids would be talked to and they would just kept going and going.
My parents told me the same thing… “Tell the teacher.” My parents saw that it was not working either. They would call but the same things would happen. But, one day, one of the kids started to constantly call me names. It really was too much for me to understand. One day, he told me why he bullied me. He said that he did it because when he was younger he had bikes and scooters thrown at him. After I learned that, when other kids called me names, I learned to block it out because they may have been through the same thing.
My parents always told me that if someone hurt me, I was allowed to fight back. That didn’t happen for a while. Then came the beginning of Sixth grade when it happened. I was at the bus stop like every day. A group of us were teasing each other and I guess it went too far. We were joking around and don’t get me wrong we were doing it for fun. We were making fun of each other and then it went too far and I ended up getting punched three times in the face. Once in the eye, once in the forehead, then the final blow was in the chin. I was just bruised but I was the only one touched. The principal was involved and my parents were called. I later found out that he had left with his grandmother and they had left to another state. He has been bounced from home to home. I am sure he was sad.
Now, I’m thirteen and in eighth grade. I’ve been helping my friends giving advice to them about bullying and other problems. I’m not the quiet kid any more. I’ve made many more friends now. I have not had any more problems with bullying. I hope to put it behind me. It was a tough time. I learned a lot about others and myself. Ryan Donovan Grade 8 1.11.16 Emerald Cove Middle School.
I want kids to know that there is a real reason bullying happens. We should find out why and try to fix it. From my story, these guys had something they were going through and were acting out. If the parents, teachers, guidance counselors and principals would change their way of dealing with the bullies, maybe they can make a difference. Most bullies have a past that you may not know of where they have been a victim of bullying or abuse and they take their anger out on you. The way to maybe prevent bullying is to see what their problem is and give them someone to talk to. It was good for me to be able to talk to someone when it happened to me. I think they may like that too.