I've been overweight all my life. I've also been "fatty", "fatso", "ugly", "fat albert", and hundreds of painfully clever other names alluring to my weight or unattractiveness. My name is Mitch, which unfortunately rhymes with a curse word. When I was in kindergarten my parents divorced and I moved with my Mother to a different part of the state. Two schools in two years. I was picked on, pushed, teased, taunted, and beat up nearly daily for those two school years. Not only was I the "new kid", but I was also "the fat kid". Double doozy.

Sadly, I never grew into my size, but I did grow strong and I learned to be cruel and mean; to strike first, making others the target before I became the target. I became a bully, making life miserable for others for years. I remember my youth as a time of pain and fear.

Today I'm nearly 40 and I carry much shame and pain from years of spending time on both sides of bullying. When I saw the trailer for Bully last year it moved me to tears. Now I'm proud to get on with the Bully Project and hope to organize a community-wide campaign in my home town.