The first thing you need to understand, is that I am not just inventing this topic. This has been written by me - I am both a past victim of bullying AND a past bully. By writing this I hope to help YOU overcome any problems you are having relating to this topic. You should understand that:

YOU'RE NOT ALONE:

It is a shocking fact that 72% of young people will have been bullied at some point during their school lives. Why is this? Well the first thing you need to understand is that IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT. Secondly, the things they say are for the most part NEVER TRUE. so do NOT listen to their insults!

ABOUT BULLIES: WHY DO THEY DO IT???

This may come as a shock to you, but most bullies pick on other people because they are weak, insecure people themselves. There were two girls who used to pick on me; they called me fat, ugly, etc, basically destroying the little self confidence that I had at the time. The truth was that one of these girls had a troubled home life; her mother was an alcoholic and she was alone with her dad. The other was not strong enough to make her own decisions so just copied the other one, as she had no other friends. The follower who had called me fat before, recently got her "just desserts". I wont go into detail in case of offending some users. But it happened. It goes to show that those girls who pick on you are probably troubled souls who need to pick on others to make them feel better about themselves. Sad and stupid really isn't it?

I know this, as I have been bullied three times in my life. The second time was maybe 6 years ago now, but instead of being a strong person and overcoming the bullies (yes you are the strong one... not the bully) I BECAME a bully. This was the biggest mistake I have ever made and it is something I will never forgive myself for. People became mean to me, so instead of being strong and standing up to them, I became one of them. I started to pick on others to make myself feel better. I felt insecure about my looks, so I called others ugly. It was only when a parent had complained and I had got into serious trouble that I realized that I had become a bitch. I cried myself to sleep many nights even whilst picking on others, until I finally decided it was time to stop. It took me months to get out of the circle of mean girls that I had fallen into. But I finally did it. And although there are many people out there who will never completely forgive me (myself being one of them), I know that YOU ARE BETTER THAN THE BULLIES. Trust me on this one.

HOW TO DEAL WITH THEM?

• I answered back to mine once and in some cases this works. If they feel that you will stand up to them, they may rapidly back down. However if this does not work:
• Try ignoring them. This may seem impossible when they are being so mean to you but if you DO NOT SHOW that their insults are hurting you (for example they call you a name) don't look sad or as though you will burst into tears. Instead just continue walking or doing whatever you are doing. Act as though they were not even there and chances are that if you keep ignoring them, they will see that their torments have no effect on you (even if they do keep this fact hidden) and they will get bored and leave you alone.
• Another idea, similar to the one before. When they are mean to you, just smile at them or shake your head to show that you think they are immature, and then just walk away holding your head high. Continue this long enough and the bullies will get bored. It worked for me. And it worked against me during my bullying months. So TRY IT. Please... I know you can overcome the bullies.

FINALLY and this is the MOST IMPORTANT PART: If the problem is seriously out of hand, you really need to talk to a teacher or a parent. Once an adult gets involved or even better your school, you can expect that the bullies will be dealt with once and for all. If they know that you are going to stand up to them, they feel threatened and you will learn that they are not as tough as they once seemed.

NEVER become a bully. You will regret it.

In conclusion, bullies are weak, pathetic people who use you to try and fix their own lives. Do not listen to them. They talk total bullshit and it really is not worth worrying over. YOU CAN BEAT THEM.