I used to be bullied for eight years. It all started when I was seven years old when my parents and I moved to Dominican Republic when my father got a new job there. I wasn’t very happy about moving to another country, but I had to accept my parents’ decision. The first days of classes went by so quickly.  Everything was perfect, I started talking with everybody and I got to meet amazing new people.  Nevertheless, as time passed, it all started to change.

              A boy in my classroom started calling me “fat”, “ugly”, and saying that I “had a horrible smile”. At first, I just ignored him but he continued to bother me. On top of that, my peers were treating me the same way he was. I thought that if I kept ignoring them they would eventually stop. However, my wishful thinking was for naught because it went from only calling me names to also pushing me in the hallways. I would also isolate myself by going inside my room and staying there the whole day as soon as I go home. I began to cry and to distance myself from everyone, including my family. I didn’t tell my mother because I knew she would just go to my school and speak to the principal. But that would only make it more difficult for me throughout the years.

I kept on ignoring my peers throughout elementary school until freshman year of high school came around. Ninth grade was the worst year. I started arguing with a girl in my classroom via Facebook. Everybody in my classroom knew of the bickering between the two of us and what made it worst was that many of my classmates supported her views. Everything was a nightmare as a result; my grades went from average to barely passing. Noticing my slipping grades, my mother started asking me, I wouldn’t tell her though. Throughout freshman and sophomore year, my whole class would either ignore me or bully me so I hanged out by myself.  Everything that I was going through made me think of committing suicide.  I got to the point where I started cutting my wrists. However, one of the main reasons why I stopped cutting myself was because I thought about my relatives and how it would affect them. 

My parents’ divorce in December 2010 was a big impact in my life and it made me realize many things. Most importantly I recognized moving to New York was a better decision since there are more opportunities to receive scholarship, government support for education, and public schools in which they are free and it would ease my financial situation. Thus, I decided to talk to my mother to consider moving back to New York.  She accepted my decision since it was the best for me. I had to prove to my mother, and myself, thought my past hindrances, that I will achieve my goals and education. I started to do much better at school as I promised myself after coming to New York.

Even though, I have gone through many obstacles, I have had the opportunity to change my way of life in New York.  So far I have met new people, have been maintaining my grades, and have made my mother proud.   My life has opened the doors for me to do better things in life. Though, it’s very difficult for me to let go of the past, it has been a motivation for me to keep moving forward. Before, I used to be insecure, lazy, and irresponsible. Now I’ve become a responsible person, overcame my fear of being bullied, and I am more independent after my parents divorce. Every time I think about being bullied and my parent’s divorce, it makes me a stronger person.