Why do people bully?

A biography of Rachel’s High School Life.

Rachel attended Elmgreen High School located in West Norwood, London, when she started school in 2012. Rachel was always the shy type, but she was a wonderful person, she would always donate to homeless people, help the elders with carrying their shopping or helping them up the stairs within her neighbourhood. She believed that helping people is good and that’s how her family raised her. To help those in need. Rachel liked to read books, paint and bake. Who doesn’t like a chocolate cake? One thing she did enjoy baking was a Rainbow Cake, with 6 different cake layers.

Rachel struggled with finding the right friends and fitting in. Rachel had her own style and didn’t like copying others just to be cool. Rachel had the longest skirt and was bullied for having a long skirt as she looked like “a nun” and that wasn’t cool (to the masses). Rachel used to get surrounded by girls rolling up her skirt and being shouted at for not having it so short, that when she bends over men and boys can look up her skirt. Rachel came in with a weaved in, hair style with a fringe, she could called “Blicki minaj” (Nicki Minaj), getting verbally abused Rachel would make it look like what was being said wasn’t bothering her, but inside it was eating her alive. She would cry herself to bed. Her parents told her to complain to the teachers so that those students would get in trouble. Rachel did and none of those students got in trouble.

As It was clear verbal bullying wasn’t enough. A group of female students in her year would surround Rachel on the stairs and kick and punch her on the way to class. Rachel went home with bruises and finally decided that enough was enough.

During PE, those same girls would steal money from Rachel’s blazer and never return it. Rachel gathered trust issues, had little self-worth and occasionally had suicide thoughts, after all no student should have to go through all of this, and be in the same class as those individual, so it would all continue in class too.

As bullying Rachel seemed like a trend, other female students would pull Rachel’s hair during assembly, every time Rachel would ask that student to stop, they said no. With no teacher support Rachel felt stuck and helpless. Rachel started to question, if she would like to even attend school anymore.

Rachel decided that the only way for this all to stop was if she started fighting back those who put their hands on her without her consent. Rachel got into her first classroom fight when a boy called Cameron threw her (Rachel’s water) water over Rachel. So Rachel had to continue to punch him until her knuckles bled. People started to leave Rachel alone after her first fight. It seems that those acts that was inflicted on Rachel gave her the the confidence to fight him.

Rachel’s final fight in Year 11 was with Raquel, who would dig her long finger nails into Rachel’s skin that left marks. Rachel asked Raquel to stop and Raquel said “no, I don’t want to’ whilst sitting beside Rachel in the classroom. Rachel decided that, she had to fight Raquel so grabbed her hair, Raquel told Rachel “to let go”, sadly Rachel let go, causing Raquel to have the upper hand. Raquel started to throw chairs at Rachel. Rachel caught the first one but sadly, the second one hit Rachel’s hand causing Rachel’s hand to become dislocated.

Rachel went to the medical room where school nurses said that she was fine, Rachel disagreed and called her Mother to come and pick her up. Her mother thankfully did and took her to hospital where she was told the accident dislocated her wrist.

The struggle of events that Rachel suffered made her feel worthless, suicidal and lost. This is no way a student should feel at such a young age. It’s clear that Rachel wasn’t the only victim of bullying as a student a year higher committed suicide due to the lack of support she had when she was being bullied.

Thankfully, the bullies left Rachel alone after she stood up for herself through physical fighting, she tried many ways before but it wasn’t helping and bullies weren’t backing down, sadly. Years later Rachel is still traumatised by the abuse she had to go through just to finish school.

I hope and wish that there was more support in schools in the future.

I am Rachel.