Do you remember your first day of elementary school? Having your brand new clothes, book bag, lunch box and a fresh new attitude about the whole experience of school. Parents excited or sadden by their children growing up holding back tears while saying “ Have a great first day at school!” This is the typical thought of a young child. I had these thoughts also, but soon realized what the reality would be for me in elementary school. Bullying is a part of many children’s lives and some incidents goes unnoticed by teachers, administration or even some students. This is what I experienced as a young child but I have learned the right techniques to deal with these issues that plague millions of kids’ daily lives.

It first started in the first grade room of my elementary school. The first couple of weeks of school were fine based solely on the fact that no one bothered me and having only two friends in my class. When it began to happen it started out just being called “fat” or “chicken” which didn’t faze me at first. They would tease me every couple of weeks and I thought they were just joking but this was to become my grim reality. As the year went on and on, it began to get worse and worse and became a daily occurrence, multiple times a day.

One memory that I recall was when, I was getting my lunch and heading to the lunch table. I had got comfortable and was talking to my best friend and had looked over at the rest of my class and they had stuck green jell-o up their noses to make it look like snot. My stomach literally felt as if someone had punched me. I vomited on the cafeteria table and began to cry. The teacher took me out of the cafeteria to the principal’s office. The walk down to his office felt like it was a mile long and never ending. None of them got in trouble. All they got told was to not do it again, which telling a group of first graders was useless. This began to happen on a daily basis and I was practically in the principal’s office every day for starting to cry due to my so-called classmates. It came to the point at lunch where everyone else was having fun and talking to their friends while I was in a room with barely any light, a chair and a desk and my own thoughts. It felt as if I was a caged animal. I felt as if I was a convict in a prison, which made me feel on edge more. The school was punishing the person being tormented instead of the tormentors. It was my own living hell.

My parents had to end up getting me a counselor and her name was Stephanie. She was my angel in disguise and listen to every word I said. It was like I had found a person that could understand what I was going through. We would hang out once a week to talk about everything from school to home, nothing was off limits. This helped a little bit but the teasing continued until I moved when I was in second grade.

The next school was a complete overhaul from the first one. When I went in for my first day of school I was so nervous and had major butterflies in my stomach and thought in my head that this school is going to be the exact same thing. When the first kid came up to me I began to cry. No one knew what was wrong but I did. I realized that these kids weren’t going to pick on me but actually make me grow not only as a student but also as a person. Stephanie was there during the first couple weeks of 2nd grade but she decided I was doing fine in my school. I was heartbroken and devastated at first but realized that I had grown enough and had the tools to handle whatever situations came my way. I stayed there the rest of elementary school and some of junior high and had no problems.

I found out that we were moving once again. I was ok with it until I found out where it was going to be. My heart sank, my stomach churned and I felt the same feelings over again. This was the same school that I had got teased at before. I had never hated something but this school was at the top of my list. The first day back I was very shy and timid and spoke to not a soul. Someone that I had never met came up to me and said, “ Are you Brittany?” I replied with “Yes.” with her reply “ Well our English teacher held everyone after class and said that if you mess with her you are getting detention.” All the teachers looked after me and if I had any problems I could go straight to them. Everything had changed since I was last there, including some of my classmates. As the years progressed I became more and more outgoing and began to not listen to people if they began to tease me.

I see my transformation like that of a phoenix, turning into ash at my lowest point but rising once again as a stronger, powerful and determined person. The support of my counselor, parents and teachers helped me become the person I am here today and some of the goals that I have. I’ve learned what to do if this is happening to me or someone else and to be there to listen to anyone that needs to talk just like some people did for me. I don’t want anyone else to have to go through what I had too. This paper is a healing process for me to get all of the negativity that I was hiding in my mind and soul for way to long.