It was inspired by a personal experience that K.M. Parr faced when publishing her book.
She was bullied online by someone she knew in real life.
This is a chance to speak out, spreading love and personal experience to raise awareness about bullying.
Bullying has always been a part of my life in some way, sometimes small things and other times big things. I have been picked on for being too smart, and too dumb, too shy, and too loud. Another big part of bullying for me, like so many girls have to experience, was weight and appearance issues. I remember the first time someone mentioned my weight to me was in sixth grade. Looking back I was definitely not fat, but words stick with you. Everyone is developing at different stages and since I was so much taller and all around curvier a lot earlier than some of the other girls, that automatically equaled fat to them. A girl in our class also past away the summer before even entering high school due to suffering from eating disorders. That was a big wake up call to how serious these issues are. I was always picked on by both sides of issues. If I lost weight then rumors spread that I was on drugs or had an eating disorder. Slowly over time I definitely grew as a person and gained experience and learned that I will never make everyone happy and I can't live my life trying. I have to focus on myself and stand up for myself. It is a lot easier for me now to do this but when I was young and in school it was so much harder. Reading has also helped me actually. I wish I had read more in high school but I had so much homework I didn't read for pleasure much. I wish I had been able to read Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver in high school. That was such a great book that I could relate to. As the saying goes things definitely do get better. Looking back I even sometimes wish I could go back to high school. There were good times along with the bad. I am definitely able to stand up for myself and others a lot more now too.
Girls can be so mean. I am always downing myself about my weight after being told many times I'm not attractive enough for someone...but I'm getting stronger. Thank you for sharing!
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