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Journalist
Lucy Williams, who works for Kerrang! magazine, was bullied at school
because she ‘didn’t fit in’ |
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How
old were you when you began getting bullied? |
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It was when
I went to a new school. My family had moved to Somerset from Wiltshire
for my dad’s work. I was 10 and everyone else had started a year
earlier so they already had all their friends. |
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Why
do you think they picked on you? |
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I was quiet
and shy and a bit of a loner. I wasn’t into the same things they
were into — like talking about boys all the time. It wasn’t
anything definite, they just thought I was really weird. |
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What sort
of things did they do to you? |
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There were
two gangs of girls who called me names and made really vicious remarks
about everything — my hair, my clothes, my nose, the way I spoke…
Sometimes they threw things at me in class. The boys never started it
but they often joined in. |
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How did
you react? |
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I
used to try to stand up for myself but then they’d get worse. But
if I didn’t stand up for myself they’d tease me about that too.
I always walked home to avoid getting the bus with them. Looking back
on it, it was probably quite dangerous — it was over a mile and it
was dark in the winter. After a couple of years of bullying I started
getting anorexia and depression. The teachers rang my parents because
I was so thin. Then one morning I collapsed and Mum and Dad took me to
the doctor. |
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Did you
get any help? |
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My parents
talked to experts about how to help me and they were really understanding.
I couldn’t have got through it without Mum and Dad’s help. When
I was 16 I went to college to finish my O levels and I met some like-minded
people who became real friends. That saved me. |
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What
would you say to someone who is being bullied now? |
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Tell
someone you can trust, someone who will take you seriously. Most schools
have anti-bullying policies now so tell a teacher if you can. It’s
important to remember that bullies are usually really unhappy themselves
— I know a lot of the girls who bullied me had horrible home lives.
Try to understand that they bully you to make themselves feel better. At
the end of the day, you’re better than they are. |
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See Cool
links for more info. |
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