LOOKING BACK
I was reminiscing about when I was much younger, growing up in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. I lived down the street from my elementary school, Woodworth. I had a few close friends and a lot that picked on me.
I was always a big kid. I was the tallest girl in my class, the chunkiest as well. I kept to myself most of the time. I would run home from school just to prevent getting beat up by a bunch of bullies. I stayed in my room doing homework or listening to my 45 rpm records on my little orange record player.
I remember one day I was in 5th grade I think. These boys kept pushing me. They kept wanting to fight me. So I decided I would meet them by the flag pole. Little did I know, my dad got wind of it and was waiting by the flag pole for me.
A lot of kids were standing around as they heard there may be a fight. These boys came out and saw my dad. My dad was a tall big man that didn't back down from a fight. When I saw my dad I smiled thinking Dad was going to save me. He told those boys that it was going to be a fair fight. He was going to make sure it was only 1 on 1. The boys who were much smaller than me, ran away. I never had a problem with them again
I moved to Gaylord, Michigan after my parents divorced. Gaylord is up near the top of the mit. I may have been older but the problems I had being bullied seemed to have followed me. Luckily my dad came to my rescue again and moved us back to Dearborn to live with him.
Things were better in highschool. Although I got the nickname of bruiser because I would not back down from anyone who picked in my best friend Kim. She had to wear a back brace. There were four of us who hung out together. We were the misfits of Fordson High. Kim, Nancy, Mickie, and myself, could always be found at the end of B hall hanging out.
By the time graduation came in 1984, we had a class of 625. Most of them became my friends because I wouldn't back down. After graduation, I went on and studied Medical assisting at a vocational ed school in Dearborn. After I completed my studies, I moved away. I lost contact with many friends.
When I started my account on Facebook, I found a few people who remembered me. Then all those who bullied me when I was younger, looked me up. I put my past behind me. I distanced myself from my past. Many people who bullied me, apologized. As they got older, their slim bodies weren't so slim anymore.
They looked back at the way they treated me and realized how much it hurt to be bullied. We now keep in touch, though I live more than a thousand miles away from my old friends, we still connect through Facebook.
I am still pretty reclusive. I am now either in a wheelchair or using my walker. I'm on oxygen 24/7 and now instead of being bullied, I get stared at.
My closest friend is Jesus. I don't need a bunch of people around me to define me. I only need Jesus, my kids, my husband, grand kids, and a few friends. I don't mind only connecting with friends on the Internet.
I sometimes miss my childhood when it was good, days I weren't bullied, hanging out with my girl scout troop, going camping with my friends, going to Canada, and Cedar Pointe. For the most part, I had a great childhood even with the bullies.