My Two Cents: Bullying PSA from Someone Who Has Been There

This is not related to fashion or beauty or anything I usually blog about- but in light of all the horrible events we are seeing in the news lately related to bullying, I felt compelled to write something just in case even one girl who reads this blog knows what it feels like to be harassed and tormented by "mean girls" at school.

I was bullied viciously on several occasions throughout middle school and high school. Older girls who didn't like the fact that I was dating someone in their grade, girls my age who decided randomly one day they didn't want me in their "clique" anymore- all things that are so clearly silly but at the time seem like the biggest deal in the world.

I remember coming home from school on many occasions in tears- and to think how much worse it would have been if Facebook was around then and the nastiness could live online 24/? It makes me shudder to even imagine it to be honest. Hearing the stories of teenage girls who took their own life because they couldn't handle it hit very close to home. While for me it never got to that extent (thanks to very supportive parents and a safe haven to escape to at home), I can't help but to wonder if the torment was also allowed to spill from the hallways and playground to my (and everyone else's) home computer, would I have been able to handle it? I really am not sure.

Girls can be mean. Really mean. And I can only guess that when they can hide behind their computers and type their torture, they can exponentially worse.

I have zero desire to re-live my middle and high school years. My 20's and so far my 30's have been amazing- and I do have to admit I get a slight thrill checking out the bullying offenders on Facebook and seeing just how little they have accomplished since their glory days peaked at age 17.

I remember my parents telling me this would all blow over and I would forget about it one day- or look back and laugh- and I couldn't imagine that would possibly be true. At the time, I wanted to move away, go to boarding school, or at least call in and use a sick day. Now, I realize how right they were- and as I prepare to have a daughter, I can't pretend that the thought of her experiencing those tough years doesn't cross my mind regularly.

So, whether or not anyone reads this- just felt like it was two cents I had to give. Being bullied sucks, big time. It feels like the end of the world, but it isn't. Not even close.

And take it from me, it feels damn good to have those same girls coming back around 15 years later emailing you to catch up over coffee because they saw you on such-and-such TV show or heard you work in such-and-such business. And promptly hitting delete :)