Powerstories Theatre stages true stories to open minds and hearts and inspire action worldwide.
Each week we will share submissions from our neighbors around the city, country, and globe. Please enjoy all the stories that bring a smile to our faces and joy to our hearts. To send us your own story, click the button to the right to complete our form and upload your own work.
Every 7 minutes a child is being bullied.
See something, say something.
Martel Jackson & Andrea Griffin – “Bullying Prevention”
TEDxNextGenerationAsheville
Story Curated from Reddit
From Redditor /u/Cosmic-mermaid:
Being an awkward looking fat girl, older boys barked at me in the hallway every day between classes. I constantly left school crying from all the public humiliation and contemplated suicide daily rather than facing them. The teachers didn’t care; everyone laughed at my expense. I was new in a town with a population of 200. They didn’t care for “outsiders.” The same boys now seek me out on Facebook 10 years later after I lost 80 pounds and grew into my looks. People are sh*tty.
Story Curated from Reddit
From Redditor /u/Cylon_dion:
I was bullied by girls who were supposed to be my friends. They put out this “petition” to remove me from school. (High school) Literally, hundreds of kids signed it, saying I was a slut/whore/etc. I was still a virgin at that point, but not that it matters. Similar things happened in middle school, but my entire four years of high school was haunted by this event. It lasted months, and my peers treated me different for years. Now, I am just incredibly paranoid that everyone has an agenda.
Story Curated from Pacer Teens Against Bullying
Anonymous
I am 14 years old and I had gone to an elementry-middle school since the 5h grade. It is a fairly small school and there was only 36 kids in my grade. From 5th-8th I was loved and treasured and had so many friends, that was until cCorona hit. During the protests, many of them made racist jokes and I called them out on it. Since then my number and instagram has been leaked on social media, I’ve lost every single friend, I have become a shell of who I used to be, and I am downright miserable. It got better for a while but they still talk about me almost a year later, I don’t think anyone realizes the effects of cyberbullying until it happens to them.
Story Curated from Pacer Teens Against Bullying
Anonymous
I’ve been bullied a ton as a kid, probably starting from the first grade for multiple reasons such as my ethnicity, my physical appearance, the food I eat, the way I talk, etc. People found anything to criticize about. I never had friends or people to talk to, because the only form of social interaction was the harmful words that came out from my peers. I never realized how insecure I’ve become since then until I was in the 7th grade and developed a severe anxiety disorder and depression. Even up to now, nothing has changed about my mental illnesses but it really sucked that some people had to make my childhood environment so painful. Things add up bit by bit, you don’t realize it but eventually, it piles up to a point that it breaks you apart. I’m about to graduate high school and I sometimes think about how different I could have been if some people didn’t bully/harass me for me just being myself back then. Giving some advice, especially to the younger ones out there: if you really think someone is being targeted for bullying, I sincerely ask you to do anything to help them because they might just need emotional support.
Story Curated from Pacer Teens Against Bullying
Anonymous
So, in fifth grade I finally got my social media because my mom let me. A lot of people didn’t like me, so they made these accounts about me. They would always message me telling me I’m fat and ugly, they would call me boyish. At school it would become physical, they would throw mud at me and trip me in the hallways. After that, I had no one to talk to, so I turned to self harm. I didn’t want to tell my mom because I was afraid of her reaction. Then she found out, and I had to go to therapy to work on myself, I finally learned that I’m not ugly or fat, I’m beautiful. I finally understood why they were saying these things. Though I did understand where they were coming from, I didn’t forgive them that easily. That is my bullying story.
Story Curated from NoPlaceForHate
Hi, my name is Marisela. I was bullied from 1st all the way to 5th grade. I’m in 11th grade now, and I’m now 17, so it was a long time ago. But the scars from all those years of bullying are still there. I was a very quiet and shy kid, so I guess that made me an easy target, and I was treated pretty much like dirt. I should also mention my dad passed away when I was six, and on top of that, I was being bullied. When I got a little older, I became depressed a lot, and I never knew why. By the time I was 15, I realized I was feeling so depressed because I hadn’t gotten over being bullied, and I realized that I need to come to terms with that in order to move on with my life. You have to forgive because if you live with this hatred in our heart, all your doing is hurting yourself. Forgiveness doesn’t make what that person did to you right, forgiveness is for you so that you can move on and be happy. This process of forgiveness is something I’m still going through. I’m over the bullying for the most part, but as for the people who hurt me, it’s gonna take longer for me to forgive them for that. From my experience, I’ve learned so much, and it made me such a strong person. And I have to give a huge thanks to my family who love me unconditionally, especially my mom; she’s everything to me. I’ve come a long way, and my life is doing pretty good right now. If you’re being bullied, please stay strong because life has so much in store for you, and you won’t want to miss out on it.
Story Curated from NoPlaceForHate
My name is Lizzy. I’ve been bullied since kindergarten. Relentless teasing, pushing, punching… I was afraid to tell anyone, afraid that it would get worse. I knew adults saw, but they refused to acknowledge that those students were doing what they were to me. I was terrified to go to school, terrified of walking home… it was awful. I’m proud to say that for the last year I’ve been bully free, and I’ve started to speak against any bullies I see. I’ve made it my mission to raise awareness and to help those going through what I did. So kids, fight back. Don’t give up. Remember, just because they don’t see you as a wonderful person doesn’t mean you aren’t one. That is your choice.
- 23% of African-American students, 23% of Caucasian students, 16% of Hispanic students, and 7% of Asian students report being bullied at school (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2019)
- 70% of LGBT students are bullied because of their sexuality. (Admissionly.com)
- Only 36% being bullied report it. (Admissionly.com)
- Students who experience bullying are at increased risk for depression, anxiety, sleep difficulties, lower academic achievement, and dropping out of school. (Centers for Disease Control, 2019)
- Bullied students indicate that bullying has a negative effect on how they feel about themselves (27%), their relationships with friends and family (19%), their school work (19%), and physical health (14%). (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2019)
- Bystanders, or those who see bullying, can make a huge difference when they intervene on behalf of someone being bullied. StopBullying
- When bystanders intervene, bullying stops within 10 seconds 57% of the time. EducationCorner
Story Submitted by Anonymous
I knew this evening was a well orchestrated plan. I have an incredible memory. My husband often comments on how I can recall the smallest details. Crazy, non important details just stick with me. Yet, on this anniversary I can’t tell you where we went for dinner or what show we took my parents to. […]