About two years ago I was in 6th grade. I was starting at a new school. Now it's scary starting a new school. Really scary. You don't know anyone, you don't have any friends. It's all just you. At the time, I hadn't been to a new school in a while. So it was all mixed emotions. I was scared, excited, nervous, and all the emotions you could possibly think of. The night of my first day of school I couldn't wait to get up in the morning and meet my class. I set out my clothes that I was going to wear the next day, packed my backpack, and made sure that I had everything I needed for school. Finally, when morning came, I woke up early to make sure I was all ready to go by the time school started. And then I left for school. When I arrived at my new school I awkwardly walked to my class room to meet everyone who was in my class. They seemed nice and all. The teacher seemed fun. It all seemed like it was going to be ok. That day passed as well as many other days following it. I still didn't make one friend. Until I met one girl in my class. She was really nice to me when all the other kids seemed to ignore me when I tried to talk to them. We hung out a lot and talked so much. She was a great friend. Until one day I didn't see her anymore. I asked the teachers where she had gone and they said she moved schools! I couldn't believe it. How could she leave me like that? Why didn't she say anything? I guess I'll never know. So then it was back to the start. I tried to talk to the other kids but they just seemed like they didn't want to talk to me. I kept trying to talk to someone but none of them seemed like they had any interest in me. At that point I just stopped trying. I didn't talk to anyone anymore nor did I sit by them at lunch. I sat by myself most of the time until they decided to sit by me. I was really confused of why they would sit by me but I just went with it. They started talking to each other. Not to me. But as one of them looked at me with disgust, I asked if something was wrong. They asked me if I was vegetarian, which I replied with a yes. Everyone around the table looked at me with disgust. That's when I noticed that they all were eating meat. That's when they called me weird, stupid, an idiot, ect. They told me that I wasn't welcomed there. No one liked me for sure at that point. They pushed me around. They kept calling me more and more names. When I walked next to them they told me to go away. I hated it there. When I would go home after school my mom would ask how my day went. Lying to her, I always said it went fine. I just didn't want her to worry. I thought I had it under control. But I was wrong. Each day I would go to school less and less enthusiastically. It was the same routine over and over again. I get up, go to school, get called names and pushed around, go home, lay on my bed and cry. Everyday after school I would cry my heart out cause I just hated it so much. I didn't even want to get up in the morning because of it. My parents had to drag me out of bed every morning just so I could get ready. The name calling got worse. They called me a lesbian for no apparent reason, they shoved meat in my face to try to make me eat it, and they did a lot of other stuff that was just not right. It got to the point where it got physical. One of them punched me in the eye. It was that night that my mom found my black swollen eye. She called my principal and told him what had been happening. He said he would do something and talk to my class. But that didn't stop them. They continued to push me around and call me more names. They also got ahold of my number and started sending me really mean texts. They did the same on Facebook. I didn't know what else to do other than to tell my mom what has been going on. That's when the police got involved. The police went to my school and talked to my class about harassment and how it is not right. They finally stopped. I've never been so relieved in my life. I left that school right after Christmas. And that's when I came to Redlands. When I was about to start my fist day of a new 6th grade, I was so paranoid. I kept asking myself, "Will they like me?" "Will they accept me?". I did the same routine as before. I laid out my clothes and packed my backpack. Went to sleep; woke up. And I was off to school. When I arrived I went into my classroom and set my things down and waited until my class came in. When they did, they were so nice to me. They asked me questions, smiled at me, shook my hand. I felt welcome. And they made sure I was never alone. Now when I look over it all, I realize that I did not go to God once. I just never thought about it. When I realized it, I dropped to my knees and prayed. I thanked God for what he has done for me. God does help people. He helps everyone when they're struggling. He helped me see that. Whenever you are struggling, in a tough situation, or are getting bullied today, when ever you feel alone, God is always there. I promise you that. You just have to believe. Philippians 4:19 says, "And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus." Stay strong all of you