“As a student, I went through many years of bullying at school, mostly in junior high and the first couple of years of high school. Though still very confused and unsure of my sexuality, every day I would be subjected to verbal harassment, being called “fairy,” “queer,” “gay-boy,” and many other names. Occasionally the insults would be accompanied with kicks, punches, or knocking books out of my arms. One day in junior high, at the end of the day, as I was attempting to wind my way through the crowded hallway in order to exit the building and board my bus, a group of boys grabbed me and shoved me into the phone booth on the front hall. I tried to force my way out, but was no match for the boys holding the door shut. During what seemed like an eternity, they would open the door repeatedly to spit on me, then close the door once again. Finally, I saw my math teacher and saw my opportunity to get out of this horrific situation. I screamed and waived frantically. We made eye-contact. Then she fixed her eyes straight ahead, and walked on, leaving me to my tormentors. These boys did finally head to their own buses, and I made it to mine just before it pulled out. When I got home, I told my mother what had happened, but she was overwhelmed with six kids and was ill-equipped to extract me from the hell I was experiencing in public education. When I became a teacher, and eventually an administrator, I vowed that I would never tolerate bullying as I encountered it. I hope I was successful, at least in some situations.”

“I lost my sister to suicide, not to bullying, but know the impact it has left on those that loved her. I’m in full support of a program like this that supports diversity and helps those feeling so alone and rejected.”

“My son was bullied since he was in 1st grade. He is now a senior in college. His life was very stressful because of bullying. The kids that bullied him were so mean and called him gay, laughed at him, isolated him, got physical with him and tormented him. I talked to principals, teachers, counselors anybody who would listen. Nobody seemed to care enough to do something about it and stop the bullying. They were not trained on how to handle these type of situations. I got to the point where I was his protector from a distance. I volunteered for everything in his schools, so that I could be there as much as possible. My son never knew I did this for that reason. He would never talk about it and to this day he does not like to talk about it. I put him in counseling, he did open up and let some of it out. He became depressed, I was so afraid for him. I felt like we were fighting this battle alone. He survived and used this to motivate him to make something of himself and his life. I kept reminding him that he had to be true to himself and be happy. I would always say to him that despite what others would say he needed to do whatever made him happy. He did just that, he became the second male cheerleader in his high school and the first male dance team member in the school’s history. He was such a great dancer and inspiration to all that he was held in such high regard. People that had bullied him and others would come out just to see him perform and would cheer him on and actually compliment him! He was one of the lucky ones that made it through.”

“This story may be hard to tell but I’ll tell it. In middle school, I was a bully myself. I was picking on this one kid due to pressure from other people. I was lost in a way until the end of middle school when I actually felt bad for what I did, and I apologized. This memory still haunts me as I could have made my own decision to not do it. In sophomore year of high school, my life took a cruel twist of fate as it was my turn to repent for my sins by being bullied. After sophomore year, I felt full of failure and loss even when I should’ve been focusing on my math final but my demons won against me. At the start of junior year, I was hoping maybe an event would cause high schools even mine to be safe from all sorts of bullying. While entering freshman year at Curry College, I heard of the sad passing of Tyler Clementi on the internet after class. He was a freshman like me. The story touched me beyond boundaries as I kept thinking of his parents who had to bury him. I hope to one day do something great for the foundation as well as have people who work here speak to the church I go to so that we can give a clear message that bullying is a coward’s playground.”

“My name is Jaylene Medina and I was cyberbullied. My whole life changed with just one picture that I had sent. Once you put something out there it will never go away. People started making pages of me and made rude comments of me. So I attempted to commit suicide. Thankfully I’m still alive and have many people that are trying to help me. I suffer with anxiety and depression. But day by day I try to become stronger. Your mistakes don’t define you. Which is why I want to stand up for cyber bullying.”

“As a mixed Asian child growing up in a white community, I never fit in. My family was not as affluent as the other families, and as much as I tried to fit in, I didn’t. I wasn’t blonde, blue-eyed, and stick thin. I had almost black hair, dark brown eyes and more muscular. I won’t ever forget the name calling. I never understood why, not being included, but I felt worse for my brother. While I would retreat and keep to myself, he would fight back. Then, the kids would call him more names. It just never stopped. To this day, I still remember how awful it felt not to be accepted because of how I looked. As a teacher now, I share my story, no matter how painful it still it is, because I hope that they see and understand that words do hurt.”

“My 6-year-old daughter was bullied mentally, physically, and verbally every day in school. The teachers and principals wouldn’t do anything, no matter how hard we fought. No apology was made and no responsibility was held. Now, my daughter, at the age of 6, is severely depressed, has self-esteem issues, anxiety, been diagnosed with PTSD, has gotten to the point of self-harm and suicidal thoughts, and is in weekly therapy. This is something my family has to deal with right now watching our child, the love of our life, hurt deeply. This campaign means so much more to me and my family than just some ‘great cause’. This needs to become a movement in honor of every child who has been bullied and suffered devastating effects from it with no repercussion for the bully, and so that no more children are lost.”

“The time I was a teenager, I was so afraid to stand up for what I believe or the knowledge I have to share with my friends or relatives. Now, I share it openly without any fear. I know that everyone is so important to me. Every life is precious to me.”