If you are being bullied indeed YOU ARE NOT ALONE!! My nightmarish experience in school...from about 4th grade through high school is much like that of the horror movie character Carrie White from the 1970's horror movie 'Carrie'. Some of you may be familiar with it. Some may not. It has a rather gruesome ending and I do not condone any kind of violent retaliation against bullies as far as the ending of this movie is concerned. At any rate, on we go. Most of my mistreatment was because of my out of control weight and my man-breasts as i call them which were caused by a psychiatric medicine i was on as a youngster. Also I had some hyperactivity challenges which most of my peers quickly noticed and in no time at all used it as fuel for their burns of cruelty I was subjected to on a daily basis. I have to laugh because its bad enough many eople say things like "ohhh everyone gets picked on in school". Im sorry but for some people its not that simple. There is a difference between being bullied and merely "picked on" but what i chuckle about is every day when i would get dropped off at school the principal would often be greeting students by the front doors and would always say to me in an un caring manner "Fire up, Nick." I would just nod my head and smile the realest smile I could muster up, the whole time thinking "yeah buddy you try being in my shoes feeling what I feel every day in this hell hole and we'll see how quickly you 'fire up' about being here." Well I still have the enlarged male breasts to this day. I have called out many of my worst tormentors on their behavior and asked why they felt like they needed to be so hateful towards me when they never really knew anything about me. I usually got a hasty appology and some kind of excuse for their words or actions but then not totally surprisingly I never heard from them again. Point being is whether you are a youth or an adult it is NEVER ok to be a bully nor is there ever any excuse to put up with being treated poorly. Just be YOU. Pure and simple. Take me for instance. I love tattoos. And one I am going to get on my arm is the blue bullying awareness ribbon with the words "Bullying Survivor" in it the same way other support ribbons have the words on them. This is going to be a HUGE way I feel to spread awareness to the issue of bullying. The sad fact is is that the emotional and psychological effects of bullying can be so severe that those who suffer the effects do not survive. Either feeling like nobody really cares or understands what they are feeling and going through or the mistreatment makes the person feel so worthless that they end up taking their own life. No matter who you are or where you are if you witness any kind of bullying going on ACT. Stand up for the person. Tell the bully that their hurtful ways are unacceptable and ask them how they would like it if they were the one getting bullied. If you dont feel comfortable getting directly involved like that, dont just shrug it off and walk away. Get sombody who CAN step in. Because just one caring person to stick up for them may seem insignificant to some. But to them it would mean more than all the riches in fort knox. Seriously. I know it would have meant that much and more to me. However nobody did so for me. I had to bottle it in. I feel very blessed despite this because very seldom does bottling anything in have a good result. Back then and to this day I found comfort in music. All kinds of music. I also discovered I had the talent of rapping. I can also write some awesome lyrics. Just for fun though. Not seeking a record deal or anything. Music for me is an amazing outlet for me. Whether listening to it or rapping or merely writing my feelings and thoughts into lyrics. Dont know what I would do without music honestly. Some more of the best advice I can give is not to give those who treat you badly the reaction they are looking for. I know this is often much easier said than done. You may not master this overnight but it is so very possible. Never stop believing in YOU! Because one thing I learned during my late 20's is that it is better to have 0 fake "friends" or associate with ppl who hurt you. Im sure there will be bullies or parents of bullies who will read posts like these and to you all I have one simple message: GROW UP AND TAKE A LOOK AT YOURSELF IN THE MIRROR!! HOW WOULD YOU LIKE BEING BULLIED? OR YOUR KIDS BEING BULLIED? Stay strong my friends!!