My name is Andrea and I'm from a small town in Missouri. Bullying for me started in my middle school years, I was a chubby kid, trying to find herself, I would wear crazy clothes and my hair was often died crazy colors. I only had a few friends who have stuck with me through all the years and they were such an amazing influence on me. I was the chubby band geek who played trumpet. Often, other students would call me fat, or fatso, I was picked on by my weight. I would always ignore them and keep to myself. I began cutting in middle school and i would cry often when I got home and sometimes in school. I was so embarrassed by all the harassment I never even told my friends or family and that was a mistake on my part. The summer before I started high school all I could think about was how I looked and how I was tired of being called fat. All this bullying caused me to develop an eating disorder. I starved myself that summer and worked out far too much. For the longest time I have never been happy with my appearance even after losing all the weight. Eating disorders are terrible, and bullying was the cause of my disorder. I still struggle with it but I am happy to say I'm no where near as bad as I used to be. Going into high school some people didnt even recognize me, and the nickname fatso dissapeared and was replaced with whore or slut, a few girls even threated to fight me and one through a piece of plywood at my back during a school project. And all i did was ignore them. i didnt turn around or fight back. I didnt have many friends in high school, but the few i had helped me through so much. My parents raised me, to turn the other cheek, and to not give those people who put you down any of your time. Other people will see them for who they truly are, and hopefully they will start to change. If you see anybody sitting by themselves or if you see someone getting picked on. Speak up. Think about how you would feel if you were in their shoes. Your voice can change someone's life. And if you're a victim of bullying. Speak up. Tell a parent or a friend. You're not alone in this world and there are others who have been in your shoes.