High School Bullying and Depression - Kate's story

High School Bullying and Depression

Almost everyone experiences bullying at some stage in their life. I was highly unpopular throughout school.

In primary school I didn’t have a single friend. At lunch I played the game-boy that my parents bought me because I had no one to sit with.

In high school, I made a few close friends, but we were then bullied as a group. I got called some awful names, things I wouldn’t like to repeat. I had apples, plastic bottles, and footballs thrown at my head because I was different. 

It even got so bad that some kids in my grade started telling me to kill myself. Horrible, right?

“Down the street, not across the road,” they’d tell me.

I’ve never cut myself, but because I wore a lot of black they seemed to think I was suicidal.

Some students even went as far as to graffiti hate for me on school property.

“Kate Bloomfield should do everyone a favour and kill herself,” they wrote on the common-room wall.

That’s something that no one should have to experience. I could never say such a thing to anyone, no matter how much I disliked them.

My friends went to the headmaster about the graffiti, and do you know what he said?

“Deal with it yourself.”

So my lovely friends painted over the horrible message before I had a chance to see it.

You see, I didn’t conform to standards that were considered normal. Even my teachers bullied me, one even told my father that I deserved the names I was called because of the way I dressed;  band shirts, Doc Marten’s boots, torn jeans, piercings and multi-coloured hair.  I also hung out with many people who identified as homosexuals. Because of this I was also labelled a ‘dyke’.

Because of this I fell into a deep depression when I was sixteen, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. Mental illness is not something anyone should be ashamed of. It’s a sickness of the mind, and I am still on medication seven years later.

So, needless to say that high school was a nightmare for me. I wouldn’t have made it through if it hadn’t been for some wonderful friends. They know who they are. And while I may not be in contact with some of them anymore, they were critical in my survival through school.

If there is one thing I know, it’s that my experience has made me a better person. I am not judgemental of others and their life choices. I’m a big supporter of equal-rights, and treating others how I’d like to be treated.

I am a stronger person, and my skin is now much thicker because of the things I’ve been through.

Unfortunately my story is not uncommon.

If there is one thing you should take from this, it’s that things do get better. Honestly.

Don’t make permanent decisions based on temporary problems.

And I can’t stress this enough: If you’re looking for a reason not to harm yourself tonight – this is it.