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Kyle Kleiboeker - Accept no one’s definition of your life; define yourself
Posted: 8/21/2013
Growing up in a small town, I always knew I was unique. Instead of playing T-Ball, I wanted to be in dance class. Instead of playing at Recess, I was designing costumes for my future “Sold Out World Tour.” I can vividly remember at 7 years old performing for just about anyone who would watch me. It wasn't until 2nd Grade when I was “The New Kid” at school that I realized Bullying existed. I danced in my school talent show and from that moment on my life would never be the same. I performed in a purple sequin jacket with matching purple biker shorts. The guys teased me because ‘dancing was for girls’ and the girls teased me because ‘boys play Soccer.’ After this performance, the kids teased me so badly that I remember not even wanting to attend school.... and all for just being myself and doing what made me happy. Through the constant support of my family I faced adversity in small town middle America, and kept performing while holding on to the hope that one day… things would get better.
Bullying stops us from being who we want to be and prevents us from expressing ourselves freely. Bullying can hurt children and have damaging effects on the rest of their lives. Now, as a successful grown adult looking back… I know that these kids bullied me because they were scared of me. At such a young age I had the courage and conviction to be exactly who I was. I possessed strong traits that they couldn't comprehend and the only way they knew to deal with their fears was to lash out and bully me.
Throughout “Summer Camp” airing on Television I have received thousands of messages from youth and even adults across America. Whether it was a young kid hoping to make it big on Broadway, a teen being harassed at school or a young gay person struggling to fit in… They all had recurring themes. They all want to feel good about themselves- they all want to be loved. After each episode aired I would sit with a cup of coffee spending countless hours responding to each and every one. While driving in my car one day I heard Macklemore’s new song “Same Love” for the first time. The message of this song was so genuine and refreshing to hear coming from the sometimes disappointing music industry. I was so inspired with his words that I teamed up with Mayme Marshall to create a music project aiming to spread more awareness and encouragement to love. We found songs that we both related to that had strong messages. We decided to call this project “Who You Are.”
To any child or person out there that feels like they can’t be who they are, there is a world of possibilities out there waiting for you. I am now living out the dreams that I created when I was 7 years old and one day you too will be celebrated for the special unique qualities that make you, you. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself. Push the boundaries of love and acceptance- spread tolerance and equality for ALL people.
Show your support for bullying prevention, all proceeds donated to PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center, by wearing a special t-shirt designed by Kyle. Check it out here.
By: Kyle Kleiboeker
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This too shall pass.
Posted: 8/20/2013
I used to be bullied when I was in Elementary school, and somewhat in Middle School. You see, growing up, in the 80's/90's, I always hung out with the boys. For the longest time, I was the only girl on my block, and at some point, my mom let me cut my hair short and dress like a boy. The girls used to make fun of me, and the boys that who hung out with me in the neighborhood, just avoided me at school. I'll never forget the day in the 5th grade when a very popular and mean girl loudly made fun of me and went around the classroom asking the boys if they would take me to the dance. I overheard boys laugh and say no way. Even my own cousin wouldn't hang out with me. She was too busy trying to impress the "cool" girls.
I remember not wanting to go to class. I remember hanging out in the library and reading by myself often. Luckily, I had very loving parents -- and that helped me through it. Although I had no friends and I was laughed at and teased, for some reason, I still marched forward as if to the beat of my own drum. I was smart, likely that helped me to rise above it. My mother always told me to protect the weak and stand up to bullies. Her words helped me feel like it didn't matter what the other kids said about me. That they didn't matter and that they were on the wrong side of things.
I was called a boy. A rumor started about me that I wore Transformers underwear. I was often laughed at, and the last to be picked to join a group or team. Later in early-middle school, I was called big bird. I think it had to do with how skinny I was and in my first attempts to look like a girl, I wore a bright blue eyeliner.
It wasn't until the 8th grade that my school life changed. I made quality friendships with good solid people. Some of the same girls who made fun of me were part of my high school click. Although, they weren't my true friends, they were on the shallower side of the click and more "friends of friends" or lunch table acquaintances.
My point is, it's all over now. I can even laugh about it. My experience has made me who I am, and I am stronger for it. I have a successful job, a family, and a strong sense of self and direction. What's important is intelligence, kindness, empathy and tenacity. I just wanted to pass this story on in hopes of reminding kids/teenagers who are going through bullying that it will pass for you too. No amount of bullying is worth your life. Life is too precious to waste on the people who pick on you. The bullies are not worth your time and energy. Look around and you will see others in the same boat as you are. Talk to them. They need a friend just like you do
By: Sarah
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Untitled…
Posted: 8/19/2013
I am 13, I have friends. But I was still bullied. People just didn’t like me. Well some may, but half of them? No. When I was kindergarten, I would get slapped. I know, i’m too young for that. It gave me this sort of trauma. But I still manage to put a smile on my face. I was happy. Knowing I have a lot more to experience since that was only the beginning. When I was at primary, I was nervous. I grew up loving school. (well not really). I enjoyed it, but in the wrong way. I myself, bullied other people. It started when I was about grade 3. I was rude, selfish, conceited. I was influenced by my past. You know what the funny thing is? It feels nothing when you’re the one doing it, but when you’re the one experiencing it. It’s hard. very. Not so long, Im finally grade 5. I got bullied, again. Yeah, I admit. It was hard. It’s funny hearing stories of yourself clearly you didn’t even do. But I still put a smile on my face. You can call me sort of, uh.. loner? Well, I had friends. Lots of them, but they obviously disliked me at some point, I could feel it. I just couldn’t wait to graduate from that school. I really hate it. Finally, oh what i’ve been waiting for. Im finally highschool. Im all mature..grown..more knowledge & most importantly, i learned to respect. I can’t wait to start a new life. Few weeks later, i’ve made couple of friends. & I’ve made a couple of enemys. Im 13, and im like about only 4 feet tall. There would be this dude and he would call me a midget. It hurts. The whole class would laugh at me. I remember this one time, where I was about to sit down. Somebody pulled the chair, and I fell on my butt. It even gets worse, there’s this one time where I was walking out the classroom. These group of boys would trip me and all I remember is making excuse to go home and just cry about it. My life, is hard. I know its not that hard like what other kids experience. But really, everyone should know..
Im not perfect. Nobody is. I’ve had my ups & downs. Im a teenager. I swear too. I do bad things. But the most important thing is everyone should feel good about themselves. Everyone has the rights to stand up for themselves. Everyone is beautiful in their own way. You deserve more than that. The reason why I want to end bullying? Bully’s are the reason why there is no confidence in people, their unappropriate opinion. NO ONE IS SUPPOSE TO FEEL MISERABLE. Demi Lovato inspires me alot. When I saw everything she’s been through, I felt like I wasn’t alone. I wanna thank her so much for being such a great role model to everyone. She made me stronger. Although at times I still get really depressed. I want to seek help and escape all my problems. But it’s not that easy.
My message to bullies: Why do you do that? what if you were in the exact position? STOP BULLYING. We hurt. Your words hurt. You may think it’s not a big deal. But it is. You may say “everyone is entitled with their own opinion”. It may seem like it doesn’t hurt, but it really does.
By: Xhndra
Strength and Courage
Posted: 8/16/2013
So, I've been bullied for seven and a half years. So since elementary school; the third grade to be exact. I can sort of relate to Demi Lovato. I have been bullied since young and there were times when I just really felt like ending it all. Especially in the third, sixth and eight grade. Those were the worst times.
I had problems at home too, so that just added to the misery I felt at school. I had no friends, no one confide to and the teachers weren't much help either. They saw me getting bullied, but chose not to do anything. And then when they found out what I was going through, they decided to act like they never saw anything and that was the first time they ever heard of a such a thing in occurring in their class.
With every year, the bullying proceeded and it just got worse. It got to the point where I absolutely HATED myself and would just go looking for the best ways to torture myself. I felt worthless, ugly, useless, stupid, all those hurtful things and all at once.
Finally, I reached high school and things changed. They were slow, yes, but things got better. I made friends - who are a lot weirder than I - that actually understood me and my feelings. I still get depressed nowadays when I'm alone and something reminds me back to the old days.
But, I'm popular now. People actually LIKE me! I have a boyfriend! Things are going amazing for me right now and I couldn't be happier. As soon as I hit high school, my whole life did a 360 and all of a sudden, I'm getting compliments and LOVE from people I didn't even know knew me!
It feels great for sticking around through all the hard times and I'm really proud of myself for being brave enough to get through it all. And I hope with more people getting involved against bullying, there'll be more people out there getting the strength and courage to do the same. =)
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I've Changed For The Better
Posted: 8/2/2013
First day of 7th grade there was a new girl. She seemed nice so i became her friend, and soon my little friend group added her to it. But soon after that, about 3 months into the school year she changed.
We all changed.
She wasn't the nice girl we all thought she was anymore, she was telling lies and starting rumors. That same month I was being called worthless and all these names by the 'popular people' and that really had a toll on my social life; my life period.
I was diagnosed with depression later that year and the bullying never stopped. I was still being called these names and feeling this way. I began cutting. I won't get into that very much, but i began seeing a social worker and man did she help. I'll cut this story short; I'm getting better. I still have depression, but it isn't that bad.
During that school year my group of friends left me. But now i'm with a better group. A group that doesn't make me feel like im nothing. I'm talking to people who are feeling how i am, and its really helping.
Some say I've changed in a bad way, But honestly? I've changed for the better, not for the worse. Whenever i see bullying i try to stop it because i know how much it had affected me 2 years ago, but just knowing people are going through that hurts me.
I want to change the world one day, one person at a time. And i plan on doing that. I plan on making at least 40% of bullying around the world stop, but who knows what can happen in the future. That's still far far away.
Thankk (: Xx
By: Jamie
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Be Strong, I Know I Am
Posted: 8/2/2013
Last year, I joined a group of friends and we all became "BFF's".
We had a group leader, her name was Sandra (not real name). Anyway we all did whatever she wanted us to do, my mom used to tell me that was peer pressure but I didn't listen. Over a month Sandra kicked one of us out by the excuse of that she wasn't allowed to have any other friends. I felt really bad for her but I just pushed it aside.
A few months later the victim was me.
I had been kicked out because I didn't go to the activities they had planned without me. Those days I was really sad and I didn't want to go to school. They had told everybody what happened and all of the other students got the wrong impression of me.
They made me feel so uncomfortable and worthless. Sandra gave me the nickname "Captain Fat". I became very self-conscious about my weight and I went days without eating. My mom told the school counselor what happened but because one of girls in the group's mom knew her boss, she said that all the blame was on me. I eventually ignored them and found out that I was living a happier life without them. As for Sandra, she has gotten in a lot of trouble with the principal.
My advice is be strong, I know I am.
By: Anonymous
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UNI: Babson College's Summer Entrepreneurship Program
Posted: 7/31/2013
We are a group of young entrepreneurs named UNI. We are a non-profit organization in that we give all our profits to charity. In the case we choose PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center. We feel particularly connected to this cause because many of us have been bullied before and have first-hand experience with it.
The purpose of our business is to raise awareness for bullying. We do this by selling certain products. We sell coloring changing water bottles to represent being the change and making a difference. We also sell pencils which say “Erase bullying. Write your own story!” and stickers that have our logo on them. Additionally we created a pamphlet that explains our business, outlines some shocking statistics, explains the different types of bullying, and then explains how you can help stop bullying. We thought this would be good to hand out along with the products. One thing that we are really proud of is our bullying awareness video. We created, filmed, and edited the entire thing. We are hoping that this would be a good addition to promoting our cause.
By: Anonymous
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My Story
Posted: 7/3/2013
When I was younger I didn't have any friends, I was a germ that no one would go near. I would sit alone at lunch and when someone did come over it was only to throw food. They would call me names like piggy because of my turned-up nose. When they hit me they would pretend to wipe the germs on someone else before saying ‘injection, injection, no infection’. I didn't really speak much and I was really shy. Sometimes I thank them for making me a stronger person and helping me get involved with helping others who are being bullied. It made me so upset, I used to shout at my family, I couldn't stop myself. This is my story and I will do what I can to help.By: Rosie
Am I Normal
Posted: 7/1/2013
I always wonder if I am normal. Through my teenage years I used to think there something wrong with me because I had a hard time learning, reading and writing. People used to call me names. I would feel like I am not a normal person, that I am ugly and no good. The bullying took such a toll on me I had to almost be put in the hospital. It also caused me to have depression, low self-esteem, anger problems and caused me to run away. It took me until now to notice I am normal. There is nothing wrong with who I am. It took me a long time to recognize that being bullied hurts and can follow you for the rest of your life. I have a quote, "it's better to be hated for who you are then to be liked for something you're not". The reason I am sharing my story is I want to help teenagers get through it and put a stop to it.By: Sarah
MARJON’S VIDEO
Posted: 6/28/2013
By: Marjon
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