Narrative Essay

Carly Schippmann

Narrative Essay

Barbara Harken

The purpose of this essay is to convey to those who have been physically or verbally bullied that although bullies are out there, bullies’ ridicule does not have to get the best of anyone.

“When people hurt you over and over, think of them like sand paper. They may scratch and hurt you a bit, but in the end, you end up polished and they end up useless.” 

― Chris Colfer

“Some people won't be happy until they've pushed you to the ground. What you have to do is have the courage to stand your ground and not give them the time of day. Hold on to your power and never give it away.” 

― Donna Schoenrock

For years I have been known as “one of the guys.” Throughout middle school, then into high school, a majority of my friends were of the opposite gender. My problem was I hung out with all the girls’ boyfriends, girls who began to see me as a threat. I did not care though. My mother had raised me not to care about what others thought about me, in order to be my own person. For me, being my own person meant being myself. Make-up, a standard for most girls my age was not for me. My own natural beauty worked. Playing against all the guys, I always played football with my brothers and his friends, going to the basketball court and “owning”. Due to this, I never cared what my guy friends’ girlfriends would think about me spending so much time with them.

Many of the girls’ nasty words had been flung at me for years. Their attacks, however, never struck me until my sophomore year in high school. Rumors roamed the halls, a different rumor each day. At first, they hung on my shoulder like a deranged monkey. Eventually, the rumors started to define me. As days became weeks, and weeks became months, I started to believe some of them even though deep down I knew they were just false accusations by envious girls that could not realize that girls can just be friends with the opposite gender. I went into a depression stage for some...