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Yasmine Galenorn
New York Times, Publishers Weekly, & USA Today Bestselling Author

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

Life on the Fringe

Authors Against Bullying: Running the Gauntlet
Posted on Friday, October 19, 2012 at 1 am by

 

The other day, Mandy Roth and I were on Twitter, talking about Amanda Todd’s suicide. We got into a rant about bullies, and decided, we had to do something–anything. Since we’re authors, the best way to touch people is with our words. So we pulled together this blog hop. Within a couple of days, we had over forty authors involved…trying to make some dent–some sort of impact, some out-reach to those teens who might be considering taking their own lives, or to the parents of teens. We hope to help…and if we stop one teenager from killing her/himself, if we encourage one parent to find out what’s going on with their kids, then we’ll have succeeded.

I’m going to tell you my story…it’s a period in time I don’t like to revisit because there’s so much baggage attached to it…but for today, I’m giving you a glimpse into what my life as a young teen was. And why I snort whenever somebody tries to tell kids that their teen years are the ‘best years of their lives.’ Trust me, they generally aren’t.

My story:

 

Yasmine at 13 years old

Me, when I was 13.

 

I entered seventh grade–junior high–full of hope and excited, fresh out of elementary school where I had been popular, one of the smartest kids in the school, and nobody cared that I was the fat little girl with frumpy homemade clothes. But suddenly, within one summer vacation, everything had changed. Now, looks mattered, clothes mattered, and being a brain wasn’t an asset. The cheerleaders were the in-crowd and I was so far out of their league that I couldn’t hope to get there. The third day there, I was in shell-shock. Everybody was acting different. All the plans I’d had for junior high had vanished and I just hoped I could make it through the week. And then, on my third day there, I walked across the campus toward the entrance and a group of guys started barking at me and mooing. A couple of them were my old friends from elementary school. That’s when I realized: I was in a new world, and it wasn’t one I wanted any part of.

Oh, I tried to shake it off. I joined pep club, which lasted a week because I couldn’t bring myself to really care about raising school spirit at football games. I turned to my best friend, and found her pulling away. I tried to make new friends but it wasn’t working. Facing a cafeteria full of strangers became agony, so I hid in the library. The librarian wasn’t supposed to let kids in there during the lunch hour but he seemed to realize that I needed refuge, so he let me stay. The first couple months, I did what I could to maintain a low profile, to blend into the crowd and not be noticed.

But then, it got worse. My mother joined the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and that meant I was automatically in the beyond-weird kid group. I was already the ‘fat, ugly, brainy’ girl, now I was  in the ‘weird religious’ camp too—a group I most definitely did not want to belong to. The JW’s scared the hell out of me and I didn’t want any part of them. And, since the JW’s required that we stop celebrating birthdays and Christmas, and I had to stop saluting the flag, everybody knew.

By Christmas time in 7th grade, it was official—I was the freak of the school.  I was the butt of jokes, the other kids avoided talking to me and only talked about me. My best friend dumped me and I had no one.

Around that time, I was diagnosed allergic to wheat, milk, and a few other things, and my stepfather decided that it was all in my mind and made me eat more bread, milk, etc., in order to make me “get over it”…And so I started getting sick. I had chronic respiratory diseases—tonsillitis, bronchitis, walking pneumonia, asthma…and started missing school. I missed 80 days in 7th grade, and that furthered my reputation as the freak of the school. However, I managed to pass with decent grades. Summer vacation was a blessing instead of being a curse.

But eighth grade started up where seventh left off. The days were one nightmare after another, kids making fun of me, kids harassing me, girls laughing at my clothes, boys barking and mooing at me as I walked through the hallways. (I was a size 14 by then). Every day was an experience in humiliation. By that point, Mom had left the JWs but there was no going back—my parents never did celebrate my birthday again, or much of anything except for Thanksgiving.

I missed 108 days of school that year, due to being sick—again, the allergies were causing severe problems and my stepfather was furious, accusing me of ‘faking’ it…except the doctor kept saying the illnesses were real, not in my head.

By that point, I believed that I was so horribly ugly, so fat, that nobody could ever like me. I was emotionally abused at home by my stepfather (and had been physically abused when I was 4), and by that point, the only thing keeping me going was my writing.

You see, I had always wanted to be a writer—ever since I was three—and I knew I could do it. So I wrote. I wrote my pain onto the page. I wrote my anger and fury at my stepfather, who was so emotionally abusive (and had been sexually abusive when I was very little), that I hated his guts. I wrote to keep myself going.

By ninth grade, life was a nightmare. I was beyond hope in finding friends—the entire school knew I was a basket case and they treated me like a pariah. I sat on my bed so many times, holding a bottle of aspirin, holding a razor blade, thinking, “I could just end this now.”

I hated my life. I hated my stepfather. I hated the kids at school. But most of all, I hated myself. In November of that year, I had an emotional breakdown. The school gave my mother the name of a counselor and he made it possible for me to stay home the rest of the year, doing my work there. Oh, home was still a nightmare. My stepfather was still a nightmare. But at least I didn’t have to face the kids at school. I disappeared into my school work and into the books that kept me going. I read like a fiend.

Still…one thing kept me going—the writing. That, I knew I could do. I knew that I’d never make it as a writer if I killed myself. I knew that I had to get away, get a college education, get out of that town and re-invent myself. And when my ninth grade teacher sent me home a note after I’d sent in one creative writing assignment, telling me how amazed she was by my talent and offering me extra credit for writing more assignments, I jumped on it. That was a lifeline—somebody besides me recognized my talent. Ninth grade passed in a blur.

By the next year, when I was supposed to start high school (10th grade), my counselor talked to the junior college, they took a look at my SAT scores, and they allowed me to skip high school and go straight into college at age 15. That was the best thing to ever happen to me.

I blossomed—at least, for me, I blossomed. The kids were no longer part of the high school clique scene. I got involved with theatre and made friends. For the first time in three years, I met people who liked me. My grades soared. And I realized maybe I was going to make it. Maybe I was going to make it to my 18th birthday and freedom.

College was a life line for me, I loved the work, I felt challenged. I started writing more prolifically—mostly short stories and poetry. I was thoroughly immersed in the drama group. And I realized I had something to live for—thoughts of suicide vanished. I knew that could hold out long enough to get away from home.

By the time I was 17, I had my Associates of Arts degree, and I left my home and my hometown to finish college elsewhere and never looked back.

I was beyond the danger of suicide. I never revisited those thoughts.

But, I will admit, it took years to learn to like myself. To see myself as more than a “brain”…it took a long time for me to believe that anybody could ever love me and I ended up in an abusive relationship for nine years, but that’s another chapter of my life.

What matters is, I made it through. I held on. And even though, yes, I ended up in an abusive situation, I got out of that, and now—well, I’m in a wonderful marriage, I’m a successful author, and I am happy. I have a good life. Yes, there will always be problems, but I wouldn’t have everything that I do if I’d given in, if I’d let the bastards beat me down.

Why am I telling you this?

Because too many kids kill themselves because life is too bleak. Because they’re bullied. They’re ostracized and called names and made fun of, they’re beaten up, they’re picked on. It’s complex issue—sometimes the parents of the bullies won’t believe their precious gems would ever do anything wrong. Sometimes the parents of the kids who are bullied won’t listen or help. Sometimes the school ignores it.

If you are one of those kids being bullied, I say this to you: hold on. Don’t give up. Find something to hang onto, something you care about, and keep it close to your heart. There are so many years ahead of you where you won’t be in school with the bullies, so much potential to become anything you want to be.

I wanted to be a writer—now I’m a New York Times bestselling author who gets to do what she loves for a living. It took a long time to get here, but it is so worth the journey. I love my life now. And I am loved—by my husband, my friends, my cats. 

Life can get better…but you have to grit your teeth and push through the rough spots. And you know what? All those kids who made fun of me, who ignored me, who whispered about me, who laughed to my face…they mean nothing now. They mean nothing in my life. They have no power over me now. Please, if you are considering suicide, just hold on, and remember that you are unique—no one can replace you, and the world will feel your loss. If you need help, if you need to talk to someone, tell your parents, your teachers, your family. And if they won’t listen, try calling one of the following help lines:

http://suicidehotlines.com/national.html

http://teenlineonline.org/

If you are depressed and have been sexually abused, RAINN is a wonderful resource to help you work through this.

http://www.rainn.org/

And, if you are a parent, please, pay attention to your kids. If they’re depressed, find out why and take whatever action you can. My childhood was a nightmare, I needed support and didn’t have it. The only help I had was from my counselor who got me out of a bad situation, but it didn’t solve the problem or deal with my inner demons. Don’t trust that kids can handle the pressure they get at school. Talk to them, let them know they can talk to you, even if they’re in trouble.

And please, don’t be one of those parents who thinks your precious gem would never, ever become a bully. Kids need support, and they also need boundaries. The schools are not a stand-in for what they learn at home. The schools can’t do their jobs without parental support. If you are approached about your child being a bully, find out the truth—and, if it is true, don’t make excuses for them. Hold them accountable. And remember: kids learn from example.

Bright blessings. And…today…do something nice for someone. Set an example by action. While there will always be bullies, we can counter them with our refusal to let them win, our refusal to let them stop us from doing what is the right thing to do.

Yasmine

Please, join our other authors and spread the word–we’re telling our stories. And, if you want, feel free to tell me your story here, in the comments. It helps to talk.

AUTHORS AGAINST BULLYING BLOG HOP

 

Posted in Authors Against Bullying |

68 Responses so far.

  1. Adele says:
    2012/10/20 at 10:56 PM

    Thank you for sharing. It means a lot to me. You are amazing and fierce and inspiring.

    I second (third?) school being the worst time of my life. I couldn’t imagine wanting to go back and do it all over again. Bullies made my life miserable at the time with verbal abuse and the physical abuse, although only once (pushed down a flight of stairs), has screwed up my hip for the rest of my life. Add to that the verbal abuse at home and I hated my life. There were points where I had my suicide all planned out, it sucked so bad.

    Books were my refuge. I devoured them.

    And the only good thing to happen to me from high school is currently playing Borderlands 2 with his buddies in the other room. :) 14 years and counting, he’s my rock. He was there for me along with two other friends and they made life bearable.

  2. Chrys says:
    2012/10/19 at 6:25 PM

    I completely understand about bullies and kids. Sometimes the kids are nasty. I know that personally, though sometimes it isn’t the children that leave issues later. For me, I was the popular kid in my second grade class. I still don’t know what it was. I wasn’t necessarily the smartest kid, I was in a class of smart kids. Yet, it seemed as if I had offended my second grade teacher somehow.

    It was almost from the beginning that the teacher was out to get me. One of the few things that I did that she hated was during reading groups. I’ve always been one of those people who reads a story, and when I read out loud, I give the character a voice. They have their own voices. I read in those voices. She hated it. I can’t even figure it out. I wasn’t the only one that had problems in that class. There were a lot of people who were uncomfortable. However, she picked on me.

    I know of one time that she was determined to teach us to walk with perfect posture and did that walk with a book on your head thing. I know all the books she had in that class, I loved to start reading books back then (I preferred writing the stories more than reading them when I was in second grade). All the other kids got books that could be balanced on her head. She gave me a thick dictionary. She liked to give out point coupons where you could take them to her little store and get like an eraser if you had a certain amount. If the book slid off, you had to give her one of your point coupons. I would watch other kids lose their books and she wouldn’t say a thing. Yet, every time this dictionary slid off of my head, she would go, you owe me this many coupons.

    In fact, the teacher kept doing things like that. I know that I’m lucky because my parents would protect me to the best of their ability. She took me out of school and homeschooled me when it became too apparent that it was detrimental to my health. They didn’t want to take me from my friends at first, but my health (both physical and mental) were more important. It was even worse when I had to take a test required for homeschooling in my state and it showed that I had mentally shut down in school by Christmas. That was where I was mentally testing in those tests. To this day I still deal with the issues. She actually caused me to end up with a stress disorder. It got worse thanks to bad third, fourth, and sixth grade teachers. Junior High and High school didn’t help either. However, that was where I saw bullying the worse. It was after that teacher and third grade on that I dealt with bullies in the kids. However, by that point, the kids couldn’t do anything. The teacher had done the damage and nothing a kid could do mattered.

    I completely agree with you on this. We need to do something. It goes beyond parents and kids at times. I also say thank you for sharing your own story.

  3. Julie says:
    2012/10/19 at 5:44 PM

    Thank you Yasmine for coming forward with your story. you’re an inspiration.

  4. Maria Powers says:
    2012/10/19 at 5:09 PM

    I can’t say that high school was easy or wonderful, but it wasn’t what you experienced. I found my “weird” groups to belong to: drama, band, drill team, choir and the smart kids. I grew up in a very affluent neighborhood and while my family was well off, we weren’t rich. I grew up believing that I was poor, I wasn’t, that I was fat, I wasn’t, that I was average in smarts, I wasn’t, that I was weird, I was. I was weird by the blase standards of teens at that time. I am okay with that and even then I refused to be other than who I was. I have no idea where that strength came from except that I have been blessed with an incredible family.

    However, I tell every teen that I know that being a teenager sucks. Whenever, I am with people who are busy telling teens, “This is the best time of your life.” I always ask that adult, “Would you go back to being 15? 13? 17? I wouldn’t. No one could ever pay me enough to go back to being a teenager. It is fine for what it is. Enjoy what you can, but life gets better every day and any adult who tells you different is lying to themselves as well as you.”

    Being a teen means that you spend a great deal of your time hating yourself and then turning around trying to make yourself feel better by making the teens who haven’t sold their souls to the gods of popularity feel less than because you wish you’d been strong enough not to sell out. If you don’t sell out, then you get to deal with the self-hatred of all of those who did; who do everything within their power to make you just want to fit in for one brief moment.

    It does get better. Every day gets better and I would never be an adolescent ever again in any time.

  5. Christine Ashworth says:
    2012/10/19 at 3:44 PM

    I hated high school. I wasn’t overweight, but I was “different”. I constantly had my nose in a book and got good grades. My high school had so many people in it that my graduating class had close to, if not over, a thousand people.

    I wasn’t bullied. But bullies get me so angry.

    I’m so sorry your youth sucked, Yasmine – and I’m SO GLAD you hung in there. I love your work.

  6. Cecilia says:
    2012/10/19 at 2:13 PM

    Thank you so much for taking part in this Yasmine. High School was hell for me and unfortunately my Son isn’t fining it much of a picnic either. Your story brought tears to both our eyes and re-enforced to my 13 y/o that being different is not a bad thing and that life after school offers so many opportunities to explore, School is just a small part of the life journey.

    Thank you again for your courage in putting your story out there for everyone to read and the strength you are passing on :)

    • Yasmine Galenorn says:
      2012/10/19 at 2:17 PM

      Cecilia, tell your son that life DOES get better, and that if he can just hang through it, he can make a wonderful life for himself when he’s an adult. That being different–well, it has its perks, and that NONE of my bullies matter to me now, and none of them have done a fraction of what I’ve accomplished. :)

  7. Lisa Allen says:
    2012/10/19 at 2:10 PM

    Yasmine, I hardly know where to begin! I would likely go into a war trench before I would do Junior High over again. While I had the opposite problem (being too skinny and gawky and without the “right clothes”), I too was “the brain” and it was more about the brawn (or the attitude of it) that made you “fit in” it seemed.

    By the time high school came, I didn’t much care since there was no support from the schools or support from my family – but they just didn’t know (or forgot their own experience, not sure which). So I copped an attitude by then, and weirdly, people wanted to be my friend because I just didn’t freakin’ care! I had authority issues with regard to behavior but managed to get good grades, though at many points I didn’t even know what even those would be for.

    Suicide wasn’t an option – but despite my attitude, I could completely see how it could be contemplated by anyone, and remembered helping many friends NOT go this route, telling them that NO ONE is worth this, for any reason.

    Later, as a single parent, I then saw that the schools have a bag of legal issues when bullies were reported, so did nothing. Since I could not home-school due to lack of support, I told my kids even in elementary school not to ever start anything but to defend themselves and I would stick up for them no matter what (and I would find out the truth if they lied). So when a kid started stealing lunch money from my son (and it was confirmed by other kids that complained to the school), I took matters in my own hand then, and went up to the kid myself, and with a mean face I told him that while the school may not be able to do anything, he didn’t want ME at his front door! It stopped immediately.

    This action empowered my kids and they had better confidence by the time of their teen years and they helped THEIR friends that were in this space, telling them it will get better (and these kids spent a lot of time at our house)! I am happy to report they are well-adjusted adults today and have it so much more “together” than I did at their ages!

    If you are a teen that is contemplating suicide for ANY reason and feel no support around you – REACH OUT, it is there, and you will get through this. If you are a teen who is a bully, please know there are other ways to feel safe in this world, get help with your anger management issues. Parents – be the first to stand up for your kids and they will feel worthy of standing up for themselves.

    Thank you Yasmine and all of the authors involved in the Authors Against Bullies project! :-)

  8. Lily Seanchai says:
    2012/10/19 at 1:51 PM

    Thank you for sharing your story, Yasmine. :) I already wrote all mine out on my website, if you’d like to read it~ (Being a fellow writer I totally understand that you can’t read every commenter’s blog, so don’t worry about it if you can’t read mine :P )

  9. deana says:
    2012/10/19 at 1:06 PM

    Thank you for sharing your story Yasmine. I cried as I reason your words. I too, was the fat weird kid that always was the butt to peoples jokes. I sat alone for years at lunch with my face in a book. The few friends I had were never in the same classes or had lunch at the same time. My senior year my mom let me home school but cause I could not mentally handle what was being dished at me. I tried to take my life at one point and I am so glad I failed. It took a long long time for me to like who I am. I have learner if you don’t like me too bad for you.

    Thank you again for sharing! You hit that spot in my heart.
    Deana

    • Yasmine Galenorn says:
      2012/10/19 at 1:07 PM

      Bless you for sharing your story, Deana. I’m so glad you hung on–there are so many amazing people in the world who have been tempted to let go early.

      Yasmine

  10. Jessa Slade says:
    2012/10/19 at 12:57 PM

    I posted a pic of myself at around that age on my #AuthorsAgainstBullying post, and I am struck by the similarity of the poses: That “I have to hold it all in” stance makes me want to tell her, “I promise you, it will get better. Just keep holding on.”

  11. Authors Against Bullying: I Have No Fucks Left To Give | Heart of the Dreaming says:
    2012/10/19 at 10:20 AM

    [...] Authors Against Bullying: I Have No Fucks Left To Give Posted on October 19, 2012 by allison So today is Authors Against Bullying day. Which I forgot to sign up for – though Jess Haines was nice enough to send me an email about it – it just got lost in the NYCC craziness. There’s a whole blog hop going on which I’m not a part of – you can check it out here. [...]

  12. Lucy Monroe says:
    2012/10/19 at 10:06 AM

    I’m sitting here with tears in my eyes. Go, Yasmine!!! Your story is heart breaking, but it’s also so incredibly full of hope for other kids who thought it couldn’t get better, for adults who are still questioning their own worth. Thank you for revisiting. Thank you for sharing! Hugs! ~We can make a change.~

    • Yasmine Galenorn says:
      2012/10/19 at 12:28 PM

      That’s why I shared it. I’m good now, I’m happy, I have a good life. But so many kids are going through this NOW. And will go through it. They’re the ones we’re doing this for. :)

  13. Michelle M. Pillow says:
    2012/10/19 at 10:05 AM

    I sent too quickly, wanted to add, what a powerful story, Yasmine, thank you for sharing it.

  14. Michelle M. Pillow says:
    2012/10/19 at 10:00 AM

    I agree, I hate when people tell kids that HS is the “best years”. You couldn’t pay me enough to go back and relive that 4 years. So much focus is put on that time, making kids feel like everything they do will mark their future. In truth, life is constantly changing and those 4 years barely matter when it’s all said and done.

  15. Leigh Evans says:
    2012/10/19 at 9:45 AM

    Yasmine,
    This was a powerful blog. I’m going to think about your story all day long. Thank you for opening up, and bless you for offering hope to those who might think life is without any.
    Leigh

  16. Donna says:
    2012/10/19 at 9:40 AM

    I was too tall, too skinny, to smart, too whatever. Haters are going to hate. I was never one of the cool kids so I was bullied on occasion at school but it was nothing compared to the bullying I got at home.
    I think my kids had it worse at school as some of the social filters we had as kids have eroded to the point of non-existence. In some ways it is better. There is more information out there and role models are speaking up and out against bullies. More needs to be done at home, in schools and in the media.

    I think blogging about this is a good thing. Thank you for sharing your story.

  17. Rivka Spicer - Author says:
    2012/10/19 at 9:02 AM

    When I heard about this movement a couple of days ago I posted my story over on my blog (http://alylonna.wordpress.com). I wanted to get involved and it’s such an important message. I think you’ve been amazingly brave to speak so honestly and openly about your experiences.

    Reading them made me incredibly sad. There were so many similarities to my own background…the chubby, overintelligent teen with the religious parent. I don’t think my experiences were as extreme as yours but the damage was the same. I walked away from my dream of writing because I thought noone would take me seriously. I scraped through a university course I didn’t want to do and, a year later, walked into an abusive relationship that lasred 5 years. When I finally got the help and support I needed (through the Women’s Refuge) I finally, at the age of 27, began repairing the damage to my psyche.

    I don’t know that I’ll ever get over my self esteem issues, but at the age of 29 I now have 4 books published. I guess I’m slowly teaching myself that it’s never too late.

    Thank you for co-ordinating such a remarkable series of posts. I’ll certainly be spreading the word.

    • Yasmine Galenorn says:
      2012/10/19 at 12:29 PM

      It took me till I was 30 to pull out of the cycles of abuse and self-hatred. *smiles* There is hope. I’ve lived less than half my life in joy, but it’s so worth the journey to get here.

  18. Nikki Duncan says:
    2012/10/19 at 8:03 AM

    I haven’t met you yet, but I follow you on Twitter. Thanks for being an inspiration every day!

  19. Susan Pinson says:
    2012/10/19 at 8:02 AM

    Thank you for sharing your story, it touched my heart. I could really relate. Thank you for your openness. Thank you for caring. Blessed be, my sister.

  20. Rebecca C. Wright says:
    2012/10/19 at 7:56 AM

    I know I have thanked you before for you openness and sharing not just the stories of your heart and mind of the stories of your life.

    Thank you for posting this.

    Rebecca

  21. Tina R. says:
    2012/10/19 at 7:44 AM

    Thanks for sharing your story. I have a 12 yr old and a 15 yr old. They have so far safely avoided being bullied but it is something I worry about every school year. I am glad you were able to find at least a couple of authority figures that could help you through it.

  22. Sandy says:
    2012/10/19 at 7:18 AM

    A great inspiration.

  23. Taryn Raye says:
    2012/10/19 at 7:10 AM

    During a conversation with our 9 $ 13 y/olds at the supper table about life and age and bullying, I said with a laugh that we can’t turn back time, but I would definitely not want to go back to being a teenager. Our 13 y/o laughed out loud as though I were joking and said, “Your teens must have sucked.”

    I nodded in agreement and told him “Anyone who tells you being a teenager is the best time of your life is full of it. Believe me when I say that it’s not- it’s the years AFTER your teens that you have to look forward to.”

    He seemed surprised, but we try our best to keep the lines of communication open with both our kids to come to us when they have trouble. We’ve gone through a few issues of bullying at school for both our kids and they came to us. Hopefully we’re giving them a lifeline that not all of us had as kids because they can talk to us and they do, most the time. ;)

    Thank you for sharing. I have my story posted on my blog, as well.

  24. Jess Haines says:
    2012/10/19 at 7:07 AM

    You really are an inspiration. Thank you for sharing your story, and helping arrange the hop.

    <3,
    -J

  25. Leah Braemel says:
    2012/10/19 at 6:43 AM

    “And please, don’t be one of those parents who thinks your precious gem would never, ever become a bully. Kids need support, and they also need boundaries. The schools are not a stand-in for what they learn at home. The schools can’t do their jobs without parental support” Here here! Thank you so much for sharing your story, Yasmine. And for arranging #AuthorsAgainstBullying.

  26. Ashley Shaw says:
    2012/10/19 at 6:34 AM

    “sometimes the parents of the bullies won’t believe their precious gems would ever do anything wrong. Sometimes the parents of the kids who are bullied won’t listen or help. Sometimes the school ignores it.” I found it to be a little bit of each of these things piled on top of one another.

    Your story is very touching. I’m glad you came out the other side stronger for having been through everything you did. Some of us don’t get that, we loose the fight, or we carry it with us forever. Thats what my blog entry is about. Inside the pain and thoughts of being bullied, in a very raw form. I survived grade school and highschool, but it follows me everywhere.

    Thanks so much for sharing!

    • Yasmine Galenorn says:
      2012/10/19 at 12:30 PM

      Oh, I carry scars, make no doubt about it, but I don’t let them ruin my life now. I refuse to give them that power. Too much joy out there to focus on what was…

  27. Authors Against Bullying | Karen Mahoney – Urban Fantasy Writer says:
    2012/10/19 at 5:48 AM

    [...] with the recent suicide of Canadian tenth-grader Amanda Todd, prompted authors Mandy M. Roth and Yasmine Galenorn to gather authors together for Authors Against Bullying (#AuthorsAgainstBullying on Twitter), a day [...]

  28. Emma says:
    2012/10/19 at 4:58 AM

    I really hope that teens are finding these blogs because each one of them is proof that it DOES get better. Thanks for sharing your story Yasmine.

  29. Gill Hopkins says:
    2012/10/19 at 4:37 AM

    I have just read your story and it brought me to tears to see what you had to go through and come out the other side stronger. I was bullied at school by a certain bunch of girls and like you alot of it was verabal. You are an inspirational woman to others in a simular postion.

  30. E.J. Stevens says:
    2012/10/19 at 4:14 AM

    Thank you for sharing your story. You raise an important point–many students who are being bullied at school are also being bullied at home. Too often, there is no safe refuge.

    It’s not fun reliving those dark times (I didn’t sleep at all last night worrying about my AAB post and remembering HS), but if we can help just one person, we’ve succeeded.

    E.J. Stevens
    Read my Authors Against Bullying post at From the Shadows.

  31. Graylin Fox says:
    2012/10/19 at 3:40 AM

    I’m in tears and admire you more for what you endured. The passion for your writing comes through in every book of yours I read.

    May the days forward be blessed and passionate,
    Graylin

  32. Iniriba says:
    2012/10/19 at 3:31 AM

    Your story is an amazing testament to never give up hope. No matter how bleak things may appear. There is always hope.

  33. Aekb says:
    2012/10/19 at 3:16 AM

    Thank you for sharing your experience. You are such an inspiration!

  34. Mandy M. Roth says:
    2012/10/19 at 2:34 AM

    Yasmine,

    I’m so very sorry to hear what you had to go through and how cruel kids can be. You had it from all sides, body and religion. I just want to hug you right now. Thank you for sharing your story. And thank you for taking a stand with me on this and for helping to spearhead this blog event.

  35. N.J. Walters says:
    2012/10/19 at 2:27 AM

    Your story is one of pain, but it’s also incredibly inspirational.

  36. Jennifer McCambridge says:
    2012/10/19 at 1:15 AM

    I hate people who bully.It didnt start for me untill high schoool freshman year and that was the only year it happened. Its funny how I would let someone bully me but not my friends. When it came to my frieds I will face down anybody.

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
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