Here are some examples that illustrate some of the different things that bullied children experience. It should help you gain more knowledge about the different nuances of bullying and how these experiences impact bullying victims.

1. “When I was 13, my cyber bully told me I should disappear off the face of the earth. I used to live in fear of running into her. Now I hope I so. Because of what she did, I’m a better person, someone who empathizes with others.” -Jessica, 22, an author in Bemidji, Minn. (Weller, 2011, p. 118)

2. “My worst time was junior year, when several boys would ‘boo’ me every time I entered the room. Now some of them want to be my friends on Facebook. Um, no.” -Brenda, 30, New York City author (ibid)

3. “I am a 13-year-old girl in junior high. I’m being harassed at school by three boys. I’m not popular, attractive or fashionable. I am athletic, quiet and a straight-A student. These boys are jocks, so they have everyone wrapped around their little fingers. They call me terrible names, take things from me and treat me like dirt. It has gotten to the point where I come home crying. I have tried everything – ignoring them and just walking away. My new friends won’t help me because they like these boys.

When I told my parents, they said I should just ignore them, and repeated it when I told them it wasn’t working. Abby, it’s impossible to ignore them because they get louder and meaner until they are hitting me or poking me, trying to get me to respond. I am at my breaking point. Please help me.” -A girl in Ohio, letter to Dear Abby Column, Dec. 8, 2007, The Denver Post, p. 3

4. Growing up as a teenager in Middletown, Connecticut, boxer Monique McClain’s life was “spiraling downhill in 2010 after she was relentlessly bullied, on the bus, at the bust stop and in school. She was pushed down, had food thrown at her, syrup poured in her hair and was viciously abused verbally by a group of girls. Her mother, Alycia, pulled her out of school, she said, when school officials told her to ‘suck it up.'” (Velin, 2012) On the verge of suicide, she eventually found reprieve when a famous boxer, Sergio Martinez (who was also bullied as a child) took her under his wing. “Sergio stepped in in a time at my life when I didn’t think I had anyone on my side. Everyone was against me, but he made me feel welcome.” (ibid)