I had an awesome childhood growing up. I had (still have) the best family who loved me and extraordinary friends to play with in my neighbourhood and school. Although I had amazing people in my life, there were some people who didn’t like me very much. These people went at great lengths to let me know that.
In grade one, I belonged to a grade 1/2 split class. I sat in the front row and loved coming to school because I enjoyed reading, writing, all things to do with art, doing math problems, and learning about science. That was until I started to get bullied by two of my classmates in the upper grade.
I remember on Valentine’s Day one of my best friends gave me a fuzzy heart sticker that lost its stickiness. Regardless, I accepted the gift with gratitude because I loved receiving gifts from her since she often gave me gifts out of the blue. One of my favourite gifts from her was the thickest colouring book I had ever seen. 🙂
Anyhow, there was a girl who sat right behind me. She came to my desk and commanded me to give her the sticker. I said no, so she punched me in the stomach, pulled my hair, and sat back in her seat before my teacher could see anything. I could feel tears swell up in my eyes as the pain in my stomach increased. I don’t remember telling my teacher. Why? I can’t really say. Maybe I was afraid. This girl continued to bully me throughout the school year.
That same school year there was a boy who sat on my right. He often bugged me and teased me. I don’t remember what conversations we had, but I remember he would physically hurt me when my teacher’s back was turned towards us. He would punch me and kick me. I didn’t tell my teacher either.
I remember walking home one day with my sisters. It was a cold winter’s day and the sky was a deep grey. The snow was piled high that every time I took a step, my boots would sink and the snow would press against my knee as I leaned forward. At the edge of a school yard was a hill that my sisters and I would walk up together. It felt like a normal day until I got pushed to the ground.
It was the boy from my class. He began punching me and kicking me. My sisters — bless them — defended me and yelled at him to stop. Eventually he left me alone and my sisters raised me up from the ground. I cried all the way home because I was hurt, my face was covered with snow, and I was embarrassed for what had happened. When I arrived home my sisters told my parents. The next day, that boy was moved to the back of the class.
In the second grade, I remember winning the book fair poster contest. This contest sort of became my thing as I won almost every year after that haha. It was seriously LIFE for me haha. Anyhow, the prize that year was $10 cash to spend on anything at the book fair. After I had received the prize I put it into my pants’ back pocket.
When I decided I wanted to go to the book fair I reached into my pocket, I discovered that the money was gone. I searched and searched everywhere for the money, but to my dismay was unable to find it. I started to cry and my teacher came to me with concern. She talked to the class and said that if they found the money to give it to me right away.
It was a spring day. The sun was shining, but I was sad because it was the last day of the book fair. The money wasn’t turned in, so I couldn’t buy anything. I remember walking home with my sisters and as we were walking over and down that same hill, I heard someone calling out my name. I turned around. It was that same boy who bullied me from the last school year. He was in my second grade class as well. There he was, running towards me on the other side of the street, waving his arms with an envelope in his hands.
He yelled, “Kleah! I have your $10! I’m sorry!”
I was relieved that the money was found, but I felt embarrassed by the situation so I told him I’d get it from him the next day, which I did. With God’s grace, this boy and I eventually became friends.
These are the stories I have about my personal experience with getting bullied. Although I’m now 24 years old I can still vividly remember exactly what went down when I was 5 and 6 years old. Why am I sharing this right now?
I am proud to be a part of CFC-Youth and this entire community of Couples For Christ because at this year’s Regional Youth Conference, we have outwardly made it our business to stand up and empower youth to defend those who are getting bullied. Sometimes we may make jokes about bullying, but there is nothing funny about it when you’re the victim.
I am proud that youth in the Mountain Region have been taught/reminded that it is not okay to bully anyone. One of my favourite moments from this year’s RYC was when our emcees, Jalen and Justine, walked into the crowd and asked a young CFC-Youth from Calgary, named Myka, what he learnt from Karla’s session, Be Bold.
He exclaimed, “It is one thing to be a bully. It’s another to defend a bully.”
The crowd of 400+ youth cheered loudly at what he said. And for good reason. This was a victory in itself because there is nothing good about bullying and there is nothing good about being a bystander. No person, whatever age they are or wherever they are, should experience getting bullied. I say this, not just out of personal experience, but out of love for the youth of today because there are now more ways for them to get bullied.
Cyberbullying is one of these ways. As a person of faith, I learnt that I can’t make excuses and say that youth can avoid being cyberbullied by not being online. The fact is, if they are not getting bullied online, then there is probably a great likelihood that they will get bullied in person. Whichever way that these youth are getting bullied, none of them are appropriate.
It is a blessing to be a part of CFC-Youth Mountain because of the sheer fact that we have all learnt that we need to love as God loves us, to be bold in our faith, and in every situation to defend those who are being mistreated. I was blessed to have a family to defend me and friends who loved me, but not all people are that lucky. Many people are/feel alone and do not have friends. Those who get bullied are vulnerable and deserve to be reminded that God loves them, that they have the same dignity as everyone around them, and that God can and will raise them up from their suffering.
God is so good. Ad majorem Dei gloriam.
