Bullying prevention.

Today I had a great opportunity to go to Freedom Elementary, and talk to the cutest kids about bullying prevention. Before the assembly started I got to talk to all these kids individually, all of them were so cute. They were telling me all about their lives, what they were doing for summer vacation, even how they got their first iPod, how some got back from Disney world with the cheer squad. I than asked all of them if they have ever been bullied before. All of them said yes, they were telling me all their stories of how kid broke their arm and how someone told them they shouldn't be living anymore. While I was hearing these stories, I had tears forming into my eyes. These kids were only 7 that I was talking to, and they were experiencing these type of situations. It broke my heart, because they were so little and so innocent. While I was sharing my story, I asked all of the kids to raise their hands if they have ever been bullied. All of the kids in the gym raised their hands. It made my heart ache, because all of them were going through such a hard trial they had to go through at such a young age. I'm so grateful I had this opportunity to go speak to such great kids and teach them about bullying prevention. All of them were so cute, and had open arms as soon as I walked into the building. I'm so grateful for the Miss America program, and for the everlasting kindness it brings into our country. 

//xoxo

A BULLY STORY | anonymous story one

Before I post this story, I just want to say thank you to all of you who have sent in your story. And to those of you who are scared to submit your story, weather it be because it will end up being a novel or to boring... Just know that your story could end up helping someone in need. Your story will never bore anyone, it will open the eyes of the lost and help the hurt. Please submit your story, everyone's story is different and unique in their own way. I love this story, because it's different. Most of the time you hear boys and girls saying that they are being bullied from peers at school, but this girl is being bullied by her own father. 

//xoxo 

sienna

I do not want to share my name, due to personal reasons being.... But my story isn't the average bully story because it wasn't by my peers or anyone from school.. It was my biological father; he was my bully. My parents are divorced and I used to see him every other weekend. It started out as what he thought were jokes "hey your starting to get a little chubby haha" but to me they weren't. When is putting your daughter down ever a joke? And then the abuse got worse. He would call me names and put me down all the time... He would tell me he hated me and then tell me he loved me. He would say that I was never going to be good enough for anybody; and that when I died I would probably go to hell. I eventually believed him.. Because when someone is telling you things about yourself all the time you start to believe what the say about you. He would ask me why I wasn't small and skinny like my younger sister. He would tell me that I was worthless all the time. He would Rudely comment on my style if he didn't like it, if I had a zit he made it a huge deal and tell me I needed to find treatment because my face was apparently disgusting. But what he mostly bullied me about was my weight. He made me loose every bit of my confidence, I quit swimteam; the thing I loved most in this world, because I didn't feel like I was good enough to stay on the team. Looking back now I can see I was more then good enough.

When we went to restaurants he would tell I couldn't get a soda or a certain meal because I was gaining weight and should try to control it. And he always did it in front of the waiter or waitress serving us. Do you know how humiliating that feels? To be put down by your own father in front of an absolute stranger and in front of the people or family eating with you at the table? It's an absolutely terrible feeling. Keep in mind I wasn't even gaining weight, I was a twig at this point in my life. Even if I was gaining weight that never should've been done. But since I was constantly being told that I was fat I believed every word he said.. I thought if my own father is telling me this then it must be true. For some reason my dad started getting physically abusive too, I would be hit and pushed around for nothing. And he was verbally and emotionally abusive as well, I was yelled at and called names constantly for no reason. 

To this day I still don't know his reasoning behind the abuse I received. It got so bad I became a bulimic for about 7 months, I lost over 30 pounds, I was sick and to this day I still have health problems because of my disorder. When my mom found out I was bulimic I was taken to a physciatrist and forced to eat and watched 24/7. I was severely depressed, I didn't let myself leave my house for over year in fear of being judged by people because of my "fat" body, I didn't even let myself go to the store to buy groceries with my mom. I didn't go into a pool for about 2 years.. And Being in the water has always been the biggest passion of my life. I didn't let myself do anything but sit in a rocking chair we had and read a book or sleep in my bed. I became suicidal and attempted suicide twice. Both times my mom caught me in the act, and I know it was God who sent her to me on those occasions, my journey in life wasn't over even though I wanted it to be. I used to cut for some time too. I still go to my physciatrist for my problems and I'm still struggling with my depression and anxiety, I'm still medicated, it's a constant never ending internal battle.

I just want to stand here as a voice to those who struggle with anything I've ever struggled with, but mostly depression as that is the most severe trial I deal with; even though everybody says happiness is a choice, for some people it isn't and don't be afraid to be honest about how your feeling, please don't keep it all in. I know how hard it is and how empty and worthless and terrible and sad you can feel, but please don't ever let it take over you like I did.

A BULLY STORY | hannah's story

this is my story; 

this is in no way, shape, or form, a plea for attention. 

my story began in elementary school. i had just moved to lehi from mapleton. ive never struggled making friends in general, so the move itself wasn't bad. the bad part was that i was the "new kid". i had glasses, terrible teeth, and was really tall. so, naturally, i was an easy target. kids would say thing to me, but i brushed it off like it wasn't a big deal. because at the time, it wasn't a big deal. i was the happy-go-lucky kid that never got sad. ever. then, one day, that attitude changed.  

first major bully experience: first grade. i was sitting on the school bus next to my friend. we were about halfway to school when i felt something hit my head, but i didn't know what it was; so i asked my friend to look for me. it turns out, the kid behind me had decided to put 3 worms in my hair. no one would help me get them out, because "worms are gross!" as if i didn't know that already. i was screaming, and still, no one would help me. the bus driver pulled to the side of the road and helped me get the worms out of my hair. 

second major bully experience: fifth grade. we got our second seating chart. i got placed next to this kid in my class because my teacher said "you're the only one in our class that can handle what he says." she was so wrong. i was already hurting inside, and this boy added to the hurt more than i ever would've thought. he would tell me that i was too tall, too fat, too ugly, and too poor. as a fifth grader, that cuts deep. i would go home from school more days than not, absolutely sobbing. my parents called my teacher and told her what was going on, and my seat got changed. but his snide comments still kept coming; he was the reason i started having self esteem issues. 

third major experience: eighth grade. my fifth grade bully was still going at me, but there were more boys in on it now. i distinctly remember four of them, and i will never forget who they are, or what they said. my self esteem was at an all-time low. in my circle of friends, i was the one that stood up for everybody. so, when my world came crashing down, no one was there to help me. i had mastered the "smile to hide the pain" thing in fifth grade; so unless you really knew me, you wouldn't have had any idea how much i was breaking inside. i didn't know who to go to or what to do, so i resorted to self harm. i would cut myself on a daily basis. i would just lay on my bed and night, sobbing as i tore through my own skin. 

forth major bully experience: tenth grade. my self esteem was completely nonexistent. i hated myself more than anything. one day, i was at a basketball game with my friends and my boyfriend when we saw this kid that was in my English class. he and i talked a lot, and i considered him a friend. so we called him over and started talking. while we were talking, i noticed a girl sitting by herself so i went over to talk to her. she was waiting for her ride, so our conversation was brief. i walked over to my group of friends, and the kid from English left really fast after i got there. my best friend and boyfriend had a certain look on their faces; i couldn't tell if they were going to cry or kill someone. i asked them what had happened, and they wouldn't say. it took me a good 10 minutes to finally get it out of them. apparently my "friend" from English had told my boyfriend (and i quote this exactly) "why did you even go for hannah? you could do so much better. i mean, she's worthless" this made me more upset than i have been in my entire life. i walked outside to where he was sitting and told him that if he had something to say, he should say it to to my face. and sure enough, he did. he made eye contact and maintained while he told me that i was completely worthless and not good enough. i then burst into tears. i asked him how he could say that about me, his response was quite simple, "because it's true." 

fifth major bully experience: tenth grade. i hated myself more than i can even explain. I HATED, HATED, HATED MYSELF. it had gotten to the point that i emotionally couldn't hold myself up anymore. i faked being sick a couple of times because just the thought of going to school and having people look at me made me cry. i literally couldn't do it on my own. luckily, i had my boyfriend, or so i thought. just when i was at my lowest point, (where it was hard for me to leave the house without crying) he dumped me. he was the one person that was holding me up, and i didn't know what to do with myself anymore. but im the kind of person that doesn't want people to know anything is wrong, so i went to school the next day. april 27, 2014. that was probably one of the biggest mistakes i have ever made. i kept pills in my backpack because i have chronic migraines. and for numerous reasons, i ended up overdoing on excedrin and tylenol at the same time. the ambulance and fire trucks had to come to my school and rush me to the emergency room. the doctor told my dad that they couldn't flush out the drugs because i had taken them long enough ago that they were already dissolving into my system. we had to sit in the emergency room for 4 hours, hoping that i didn't take enough pills for the toxicity level in my blood to get too high. i wouldnt accept what i had done. i sat down and thought about why i tried to kill myself, and i got one reason; because i deserved to die. and i hated myself so much that i want to be the person to kill me. 

i am sixteen. i am here to tell you, I have been through hell and back a dozen times. it will get better. im working on getting better. im learning how to cope, as well as learning to like myself. it's a slow process, but im working on it. i will be a junior next year, and a lot of the scars from cutting myself in eighth grade are still visible; but but im learning to accept it, and take responsibility for my past actions. im transferring high schools to give myself a new surrounding look, you WILL get better. and things WILL look up. but you have to WANT it to get better as much as you want to breathe. not only want it, but you have to put in the time and dedication to fix it. it's a real problem; treat it like one. and that is my story thus far. 

try cover.

Here is what you have all been waiting for! A special thank you to my dad for shooting this, and my cute cousin, Spencer for being my date in this video! Let me know what you all think! Please share this video, on the importance of true beauty! Thanks!

//xoxo

A BULLY STORY | ryan's story

 

All through out my grade school years, I haven't really ever experienced bullying. There's been times I've been picked on and times I picked on others, but who doesn't do that? But going into my 7th grade year, I went to a little school called Lincoln academy. While I was there I got bullied... Beat up... Lied to... Teased to... Just plain up bullied.  No one stood up for the new guy, the shorty.. (yes I was short in 7th grade) Everyday I woke up, and I thought to myself "where will I hide today." and "is today the day I leave all of this.." I was a freak I thought. I tried to kill myself, had the knife to my chest, and I made myself bleed from a little wound. Almost jumped infront of a car, also.
After that painful year, I switched schools. For 8th grade I went to lehi jr high, and my 8th grade year was pretty great, because I met my best friend, Sienna. The only true friend I have ever had, she saved me. I felt a reason I should stay, because of her. But I still got bullied and teased but it was worth it, because me and her had each other, so everything was going good.. Until my 9th grade year.
My 9th grade year I still went to lehi jr high. And I made some choices and did some actions that made me become the bully.. I was on the football team, got horrible friends, and did other awful stuff. I bullied EVERYONE that was "below my level" and almost made a guy kill him self.
I went to far, I know i have.... (And just so all you guys know me and that kid are really good friends now and everyone else I bullied.) I can assure you, being the bully is worse then being bullied. I would know, I experienced both. I know some of you have been bullied and would want to fight back... I fought back the bad way.. Don't do what I did, It's not worth it.
Let me tell you guys something you already know. The world is a dark place, and we will get knocked down... and when we get knocked down we will get stepped on.
What I have realized recently is that, it doesn't matter how hard you hit... It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. That is how winning is done!

I'm proud of sienna. Reading her bully story makes me think " that's a true hero "
Thank you for your time

A BULLY STORY | megan's story

*names have been changed for privacy reasons.

This is my story, not many people have ever heard it. I have had issues with making friends, no matter how many times I go out of my comfort zone to ask for a friend. Whenever I asked,  I always got laughed at. I switched schools a lot when I was little, I did public school, charter school and even home school. I never fit in at school.
I remember one day in 1st or 2nd grade, I was playing on the sidewalk playing hop scotch with a couple other kids, I remember one girl asked me where all my friends were, I told her I didn't have any and she immediately called me a loser and told me that I couldn't play with them anymore. I was heart broken. A week later this girl passed me a note saying: "Quinn* says you have no friends you're stupid." It all went down hill. 
I switched schools and was there for most of the year until Christmas. I switched to homeschool at that point because I was struggling. After a month of homeschool I went back to my elementary school for 3rd and 4th grade. I met this kid named Zac* who was autistic and had food allergies. I did everything with him from eating lunch to playing outside to hanging out with him and his sister. It was so nice to live a normal bully free life. I switched back to the charter school for 5th-1st term of 9th. I switched to the public junior high school. I hated it. I worked in the lunch room for my lunch and got teased, in choir I got notes in my bag and even whispered about. I walked down the halls and got rocks thrown at the back of my head and every time I got hit I heard "hey look I hit fatso!" followed by laughter. I got tripped in the halls, notes in my locker and even staples in my hair. Towards the middle of my 9th grade year I got made fun of in front of my math class because I sneezed. I lost it and ran to the bathroom and just sobbed. 
For weeks after I got made fun of in math and in science. I developed a bad habit. When my friend found out she took me to the counselor, where she threatened to call my parents even after I told her not to. I stopped and was clean for 2 months before relapsing. I then became clean for 6 months, which turned into a year. 1 month later i got a text saying my cousin had attempted suicide. This was only 1 year and 2 months after my best friend attempted. It reopened the scars that never healed fully. I was angry and devastated. 
10th grade started soon, after my 6 month mark, I felt like everything was going my way when I got a note saying: "your so fat! Lose some weight already!" At that point I was heartbroken. Unsure of what to do, I became anorexic. I would lie and tell my family and friends I had already eaten, that I wasn't hungry or that I was full. I was anorexic for 2 months before I finally just didn't care anymore. The rest of the year started to fall apart, I sat alone at lunch everyday, I would get food thrown at me or even people would move away and ignore me. I got ignored daily, teased, stuff thrown at me and even notes.  I never did anything because I felt like it was all my fault. Towards the end of the year I got a text saying: "stop eating your eye boogers, your disgusting!" I was hurt, I texted my friend Brianna* to see if she knew who it was and she said no, and then told me that it was the truth I do that. At that point I lost it and was done. I didn't want to do anything anymore. I skipped school saying that I was "sick" and sometimes I was other times I was just fine. Summer came really quick which meant no bullying but then youth conference came and it was stake, within the first day I had kids treating me like crap. I cried myself to sleep every night. On the last day I finally said something after Dallin* said I didn't know anything and to keep my mouth shut. I finally had had enough I went up and told him I didn't like the way he had been treating me. Everyone was shocked I would talk to someone like that. Everyone said that he was just joking and I needed to lighten up. No body saw the pain I was put in for that joke to be said.
No body sees the pain you put someone through until someone speaks up. During everytime I was teased, there were only bistanders, everytime I wished for the pain to end and for someone to step in and say I don't like the way your treating her, no one did. If I could give someone who's being bullied any advice it would be: talk to someone it helps. Tell your parents, tell your teacher tell someone. It's hard but it is worth it.