Bullying Sticks With You
By: Rachael from Canada

"A friend and I were bullying another girl in our grade that everyone hated. My friend hit her with skip ropes & stuff. She really hurt her emotionally and so did I. I felt on top of the world when I was around her. She listened to us cause she was scared. One day it went too far. My friend pushed her off her bike & ran inside laughing. I was still outside and she was laying on the ground crying and bleeding from a scrape on her knee. I felt REALLY bad & helped her up, and carried her bike back to her house. I said sorry and everything, and I think that helped a little bit. She wasn't mad at me since I helped her. I talked to my friend the next day and we stopped picking on her but to this day I still feel really bad and guilty for what I did. It was around 4 or 5 years ago. I really think I bullied her to feel powerful but I ended up feeling HORRIBLE afterwards. Don't bully. It sticks with you for life and sorry won't help much at all. I made new friends that year and now I think I'm a better person than I ever was. I learned and grew from that horrible experience."

Beautiful Me
By: A Friend from Santa Clara, CA

"In middle school and some parts of high school, I was constantly being picked on by other girls because I have a very fair & white skin tone. They would make fun of me for not being tan and call me names like Casper the ghost and say that I was so white I was almost transparent. They would compare my skin tone to white paper, but the worst and most hurtful was when they would call me albino. I honestly can tell you how many times I would come home from school in tears but as i got older I realized that the fair skin tone is a part of what makes me, me and I'm not going to let mean girls who make fun of others just to make themselves feel better about themselves get me down and hate who I am and I love the way I am now. I accept the fact that I'm Italian & Irish, so of course I'm going to have fair skin lol. I love me, for me."

My Dear Sweet Child,

I am so sorry that some very small people are making YOU feel like the small one. But I want to encourage you with the truth:  that you are more special and valued than you can imagine right now. Think about this fact: In the history of the planet, of all the billions of people who have ever walked the earth, or ever will, there is only ONE YOU! God created you incredibly unique and beautifully complex!  All of your strengths (and you have many) and all of your flaws (we ALL have many) were specifically designed to make you the treasure that you are and to mold you into the strong woman you will become. Please don’t let your peers convince you otherwise, and get you so down on yourself that you would rob the future of your presence. Tell an adult you trust the extent of what you are suffering so that they can help you. We are here to protect you and to help you through this awkward, confusing, and very difficult time called adolescence. At your age it is natural to feel like Jr. High and High School is all there is, but the truth is that life only gets better and better!  Look to surround yourself with a community of people that build you up, not tear you down. Those people are not worth your time, and are most likely trying to cover up very deep wounds and insecurities of their own by making others feel like nothing. In life you will face many challenges and struggles, we all do, but when faced head on and persevered, they will make you a stronger, wiser, and more compassionate woman. In fact MOST of the most successful and influential people in the world have faced this same problem, and overcame. Never give up. God is with you always; through every pain and every struggle, and NOTHING can separate you from His love.

~ Tanya Chisholm (Kelly from Big Time Rush)

Advice to victims:

"It always gets better. Find what makes you powerful and no bully will ever touch you. There's your people, and there's everyone else." -David Cade (Jett Stetson from Big Time Rush)

"Don't let someone else define who you are. Only you can decide that." -James Maslow (Big Time Rush)

"Just take a timeout and remember that you have people there who care about you." -Victoria Justice (Victorious)

"For every one hater you have, there are 10 people who love you." -Aly Michalka (78 Violet/Hellcats)

"You are beautiful. Simple as that. God didn't make mistakes." -Logan Henderson (Big Time Rush)

"It always gets better. Find what makes you powerful and no bully can ever touch you. There's your people, and there's everyone else." -David Cade (Big Time Rush)