Many people believe that everything happens for a reason, although sometimes one may not know or see that reason. Years ago, when I was in elementary school, I did not believe that there was a reason behind events that took place in my life. I was bullied in the sixth grade by a group of girls in my grade. The bullying was caused by a rumor that was spread about which caused me to lose my friends. The school got involved and then the truth was later told and ultimately led to me gaining back my friends. The adolescent stage of a young women’s life is comparable the to motion of a roller coaster.
The ups and downs definitely made it hard to forget what the years brought upon me. When I was in the sixth grade, I had a fairly large group of friends. Recess came along, and it seemed as though time moved fast when I was having fun. Going to class was surprisingly joyful, considering I had my friends in the same class as me and was able to pick where I wanted to sit instead of being placed like I had to do in fifth grade. Moving up a grade meant one was mature, and with maturity in elementary school comes attitude and drama.
Someone had told my friend, Amanda, that I said she did not look good in UGGS. The old he-said/she-said game that girls always seem to play was now becoming my worst enemy. Knowing I did not say anything, and knowing how offended my friend was at me for “saying” that, I tried to clear my name. Spending countless amounts of recesses trying to prove to my friend Amanda that was she heard was not true did not work in my favor. Before I knew it, there were too many rumors circulating around the classroom that I did not even know where to begin.
I felt alone and helpless. I had seen what I was supposed to do when I was getting bullied on flyers and presentations around the school, but I could not tell my teacher what was happening. The situation became out of control and my teacher noticed something was wrong. Notifying the principal, actions were taken immediately. Name calling, rumor starting, pointing and laughing, etc. was not taken lightly. My school made that clear when I, along with the other girls involved, including Amanda, were put into a private room to discuss what had been happening.
At first I felt as if I was backed up against the wall, but the moment I started to explain my side of the story I could see the look of guilt all over the girls’ faces. After a long day of sorting out the facts from the rumors, I was starting to see not only who started the rumors but why the rumors were started. Sara had made this whole thing up because she was not part of our science project group. Teachers, principals, all the girls along with me were relived when this drama was done with. They say things need to get worse before they can get better; this situation was an example how this statement is proven true.
Losing my friends was the hardest part, but what was so great about being so young was that gaining them back made up for the loss. It was definitely a hard couple of months, as it would have been for anybody else. However, if that did not happen, if being made fun of and ignored to did not happen then it would be difficult to know the value of being honest or why it is wrong to spread rumors. I believe that the cause of getting bullied and the effects it had on me have greatly impacted me on in regards to some of the morals I have today.
