Maria Drake Life changing Experience Have you ever been bullied at some point in your life? I have; Bullying is such a huge deal and it continues to affect many people to this day in our society. Based on my personal experience in the past, some of the effects that come from bullying can include: emotional distress, anxiety, lack of trust in other people, and low self-esteem. In some cases, bullying can lead to taking one’s life, as well as hurting others. Being bullied as a child has been such a life changing experience in my life. I recall moments throughout my elementary years in school where I had been bullied .
One hot, sweaty and exhausting day during my last recess I was out on the black top playing handball with some of the kids at the school. I was suddenly approached by three young blonde haired girls with smirks on their faces. One of the young blonde hair girls had stood in front of me and violently pushed me hard enough to where I had fallen on my side. The other two blonde haired girls stood behind me laughing. I was so embarrassed because I had fallen in front of what seemed to be the whole school even though it may not have been.
As I slowly got back up on my feet and began to walk away, one of the blonde haired girls sarcastically called me a F. O. B. Embarrassed as ever, my face could have been as red as a hot tamale. Clueless on what the meaning of the word F. O. B meant, I had later gotten home to my tired and weary mom and asked her what the word or phrase F. O. B. meant. But because English is her second language, she herself was also clueless. So I continued on and asked my kuya (older brother) Lawrence, “Hey kuya, what does F. O. B. mean? He then laughed at me and said, “What! Who said that? ” I said, “Well the kids at school on the playground had called me a F. O. B. ”Lawrence then said, “Sis, they are calling you a Fresh off the Boatperson. ” He then laughed about it. Right then and there I felt really hurt because I finally learned what the word F. O. B meant. Considering I was born in Guam, lived in both Guam and the Philippines prior to moving to the United States, I was bullied and teased because of how I was dressed and the lunch that was packed for me on various days.
Since I grew up in a home where money was very scarce, my kuya Lawrence and I was always teased about wearing the same dingy hand me down clothes two days at a time. Lunch was always embarrassing because my parents couldn’t afford the school lunch so my mother would pack our lunches. She seemed to always pack left overs which would be a dish called chicken adobo (cut up chicken, sauteed with peppercorn, vinegar, and some soy sauce) and rice. The other kids would laugh and tease me because they had meat sandwiches or some type of lunch-able lunchboxes.
I didn’t think that the chicken adobo and rice was a bad lunch at all. There were also days that my family and I would eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches the entire day. Another occasion that I recall getting bullied was the day that I had went in the lunch line and acted as if I lost my lunch punch card or left my money at home that day. As I was sitting at the table with other kids, two girls had approached me and was laughing at me and I was wondering why they were laughing at me.
That very moment I remember being drenched with a shaken can of root beer by the girls that were laughing at me. I didn’t know what to do but run out and cry, the girls had ran after me pushed me into the bushes and put blow pops my hair. I was so hurt and I cried until my kuya Lawrence had found me. Then he hugged me and helped me up. I also recall being bullied in the fifth grade. It was right after my first recess when the bell had rung and all the kids from my class had to line up in a single file line.
While entering our class room Carla, a big tall black girl, had tripped me, and I had fallen face first towards a desk that was on the left side of the room facing me. I remember helping myself up from falling and had seen blood on the sleeve of my salmon and yellow flowered shirt that I wore that day. From the fall I had gotten a bit scared because I wasn’t sure where the blood had come from. Mrs. Horn my concerned teacher had asked me, “Is everything okay Maria? You are bleeding from your nose! ” I had told her that I had tripped off of something or someone’s foot.
So Mrs. Horn then turned to the class and asked the students if they had seen what happened. No one said a word to Mrs. Horn, I was then sent to the nurse’s office down the hall that seemed so far away, just to make sure that I was okay. After seeing the school nurse, I had returned to class only to find myself sitting next to the girl who had tripped me, Carla and her friend Ashley. During class while doing my book report, I had gotten hit on my right cheek with a yucky wet spit ball from the girl Ashley. It was so disgusting that I had asked her to please stop.
Ashley then rolled her eyes at me and said make me. Again as I was writing in my journal for my book report that was due at the end of class Ashley had once again hit me with that nasty ole spit ball, this time in my eye. It hurt and I was so furious and just didn’t know what to do anymore, I got up off my seat and walked down the aisle making my way to the teacher’s desk. I then had told Mrs. Horn that Ashley had hit me not once but twice with her nasty ole spit ball in my face and that I didn’t like that.
Mrs. Horn had then said she was going to have a word with Ashley. As I walked towards my desk Carla had given me this evil look of I’m not finished with you yet look. The bell had rung and school was now over, I gathered my belongings rushing to turn my book report in. As I made my way out of the class room and down the hallway to exit the school building I was confronted by a young Asian boy whom had told me that rumor has it Carla and Ashley were going to jump me.
I was so nervous and scared that I thought if I had started to run home right now I’d probably pass Carla and Ashley up. Boy was I wrong; as soon as I had crossed the street and rushed right around the corner of Lee’s Donut shop near the railroad tracks there stood Carla and Ashley awaiting my arrival. Sweat began to pour from my face, my nerves seemed to be jumping out of my skin right now, as I started to get shaky, all can think of is “oh boy I’m in trouble now! ” as soon as I said that I was already on the ground receiving blow after blow from both Ashley and Carla.
I can hear the voices of the other kids whom were all there cheering the girls on as they continued to hit me. I had to tell myself to get up and do something dummy, you have to defend yourself. I then got this urge this strength to get up on my feet and fight back. I didn’t know a thing about boxing or hitting anyone but because of my adrenaline and emotions that I was feeling, I decided to do something, it happened so quickly that I wasn’t sure what had happened but everyone was running from the scene.
A really old sweet voice had asked me if I was okay. I didn’t answer I just started to run home. To conclude my essay, I believe that people should pay more attention to what is going on in their children’s lives. Many kids fail to speak out about themselves or others being bullied for the fear of retaliation. I speak for a lot of people when I say being bullied as a child is a life altering event that leaves wounds that sometimes can never be healed.
Many adults who were bullied as a kid sometimes find it hard to forgive those who have bullied them. But because of my life now and who I am in Christ, if I were to cross paths with Carla, Ashley, and the three blonde haired girls, I would let them know how deeply they had wounded me all those years ago; I would let them know that it’s okay now because I forgive them. Forgiveness is the key here and since I have grasped the concept of it, I no longer suffer from the emotional effects of being bullied. My wounds have been healed.
