Reply #204: Thanks Will

[FreedomRain]

and all the posters! *Hugs all around*

We moved A LOT, nearly every year. So there was always the hope that this new place would be better. It rarely was, but there were brief respites from the bullies. Like 8th grade (in an American School in Jordan) , I was nearly even popular there! 9th grade back in Virginia proved it wouldn't last. The very worst was 6th grade in Colombia (very mixed private school, taught in English, all the diplomats and high rollers sent their kids there.) 7th grade in rural Oregon was little better. A different school in Virginia for Senior year (class of 85) was the fight back success story. (it CAN work, I think is the lesson. If you need to give advice to a kid in that situation, it is ONE possibility. It is NOT a cure-all. )

So many of your stories, I relate to. My particular offense was having an odd nasal voice, though high IQ didn't help either.

7th grade fantasy - A battery in my backpack that I could use to shock people who tried to hurt me ;)

Abusive father, check. (Mostly in the form of ridiculous spankings every day - and I was a model kid. Rest of the family, never seemed to notice and were surprised but not shocked when I talked about it once.) I now believe that may have been a huge part of the "signal."

The fake set up to ask a girl out - 9th grade.

Whenever possible , I walked to and from school. Usually through woods, but even in foreign cities. over 15 miles for the Oregon school. Still a big fan of long walks , ha!

All 4 of my step-kids were bullied at school (Arizona). When it reached the point they cried that they just couldn't go back, what could I say? I knew they were right and the various schools they attended had never done anything positive and occasionally made it worse. They all went to online home-school.