Writer's Block: Anti-bullying month
Since I was never one of the "popular" kids I was always picked on and bullied as I was growing up. I was a quiet kid who had a very hard time sticking up for herself and therefore became an easy target. At the time it was just something that I thought was part of growing up and I'd just have to deal with it not realizing that it was in fact bullying. I never really told my mom about it because that would be admitting that it was happening - when I went home I just wanted to forget about it, but every day I would go to school with an almost constant stomachache due to fear of what was going to happen to me.
No bullying, however, was as bad as when I came out - the homophobic slurs and put downs were much more hurtful than anything I had ever experienced. Though it may sound cheesy, looking back I realize I was also a bully to myself as I put myself down all the time - believing what others were saying that I wasn't cool enough, or pretty enough, etc. It wasn't until many years later that I began to change my way of thinking and to stop bullying myself which led to not letting others bully me either.