Hey, everyone. When Mandy Roth said she wanted to do something about bullying I jumped on right away. Not just because she is the BOMB, but also because this is an issue that is near and dear to my heart.
I hate bullies. I hate them with a passion. I am not just throwing the word around. I hate that they bring out true hatred in me, but bullies are a group I have never been able to abide.
I grew up as a military brat, changing schools every few years. When we lived in Germany, it wasn’t that bad. It was all military and so I was with a bunch of other kids who were in the same boat. Yes, there are always bullies, but I didn’t have to deal with being the ONLY new kid. When we moved back to the states, I had to deal with being a civilian kids. Granted, most of them were nice. But while there were military brats there with me, I still had to deal with bullies. People who put me down because of my looks, my friends, and even the fact that I was a military brat. It wasn’t easy being a pudgy girl with an affinity for reading, but I always had friends, and we watched out for each other. It didn’t change as I moved on through school then college and then life. There are bullies at every level.
Now that I have girls of my own, and military brats at that, I talk to them about bullies. While I would love to tell them that bullies go away when you get older, I can’t. Bullies are in every age group, every ethnic group, and in every socioeconomic level in our society. There is no avoiding them.
The one thing that doesn’t change that every bully is a COWARD. For all their tough talk and their ability to get people to find them blindly, they are cowards. They are nothing else. I hate seeing the stories about children bullied for no reason who take their lives because they can’t take it any more. It has been ignored for too long at every level of our society.
If you know of anyone in this situation, don’t hesitate to reach out to them. The worst thing for a person who is a victim of a bullies is the feeling of being alone. That phone call, email, text message or FB post, may be the one thing that keeps your friend from feeling alone.
Please go to each of these authors’ blogs as we take a stand against bullies! Each author is blogging today about the issue.
Mandy M. Roth
Yasmine Galenorn
Lauren Dane
Michelle M. Pillow
Kate Douglas
Shawntelle Madison
Leah Braemel
Aaron Crocco
NJ Walters
Jax Garren
Shelli Stevens
Melissa Schroeder
Jaycee Clark
Shawna Thomas
Ella Drake
E.J. Stevens
Ashley Shaw
Jeaniene Frost
Rachel Caine
Kate Rothwell
Jackie Morse Kessler
Jaye Wells
Kate Angell
Melissa Cutler
PT Michelle
Patrice Michelle
Julie Leto
Kaz Mahoney
Cynthia D’Alba
Jesse L. Cairns
TJ Michaels
Jess Haines
Phoebe Conn
Jessa Slade
Kate Davies
Lynne Silver
Taryn Blackthorne
Margaret Daley
Alyssa Day
Aaron Dries
Lisa Whitefern
Rhyannon Byrd
Carly Phillips
Leslie Kelly
Janelle Denison
Graylin Fox
Lee McKenzie
Barbara Winkes
Harmony Evans
Mary Eason
Ann Aguirre
Lucy Monroe
Nikki Duncan
Kerry Schafer
Ruth Frances Long
Julie Chicklitasaurus
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Mandy is the BOMB. This is an issue that needs more attention from everyone. Thanks for sharing your story to help shed some light on this issue.
Melissa,
Thank you so much for joining in on this blog event. And you’re right, bullies are cowards.
Thanks, Melissa, for sharing your story. I agree Mandy is THE BOMB. And bullies are cowards.
I love that you teach your kids that there will always be bullies. Too many people say it’ll get better, just shove past it when the truth is that a lot of hard work goes into overcoming and learning to deal with bullying.
Love you.
I was too tall, too skinny, to smart, too whatever. Haters are going to hate. I was never one of the cool kids so I was bullied on occasion at school but it was nothing compared to the bullying I got at home.
I think my kids had it worse at school as some of the social filters we had as kids have eroded to the point of non-existence. In some ways it is better. There is more information out there and role models are speaking up and out against bullies. More needs to be done at home, in schools and in the media.
My daughter is Jewish and a lesbian living in the bible-belt. How she has grown into the incredible woman she has despite all the negativity is one of life’s great mysteries and one of my greatest blessings.
I think blogging about this is a good thing. Thank you for sharing your story.
Thanks for sharing! We might not be able to put an end to it, but we can certainly prepare and help our youth in ways to help them deal with it.
Yes, reaching out can make such a difference. Thank you for sharing your story.
E.J. Stevens
Read my Authors Against Bullying post at From the Shadows.
Hey Melissa, Yep I luvs Mandy, too, she’s awesome!!
“Bullies are in every age group, every ethnic group, and in every socioeconomic level in our society. There is no avoiding them.”
This is so true. I’m just happy that now as an adult I have more options with how I deal with them. As a kid, it’s hard to navigate growing up even without throwing social trauma into the mix. Great post!
I’m very proud to be a part of this important event, and empowered by all the stories of hope and encouragement I’m reading today. It’s wonderful that people can get together and promote the positive.
You all are wonderful for doing this blog hop… thanks Melissa for sharing your story… At one point in school I was bullied by this girl… she scared me bigtime. She was left back 3 times, so she was alot older, pretty muscular and mean looking. It was on the bus going home… one day she decided I would be her prey… she threw stuff at me, dumped drinks on me, said some really nasty things… not once did the bus driver do anything to stop it. I told my parents… this went on for a few days… but before they could anything about it… the girl was either kicked out for other things or she decided to quit school… I did not care what happened just that I was free of her bullying. No one should have to deal with this behavior from another human being… whether physical or mental.
Thanks for being part of the hop, Melissa, and sharing your experience.
<3,
-J
I love that there are so many of you authors that are taking a stand on this issue. I too grew up thru middle school as a military brat. Then my sister and I moved in with my mom for 7-12th grade. However, when we moved to upstate NY I remember being bullied because of my accent (we just came from a few years in the deep south)… It was horrible, to the point where I have spent the rest of school going out of my way to make sure I didn’t let an accent come thru. (silly and irrational of me, I know)… but has left scars on me in the sense of it is so ingrained in my head that when I go to a new place I start to talk as they do. People think I do it on purpose; when honestly I don’t even realize that I do it, I just want to blend and not draw attention to myself…
Thank you for sharing your story and being apart of a worthy cause!
PS Love your books! 🙂