How many of you have been tormented by a High School Bully? (Ok, ANY BULLY AT ALL IN YOUR LIFE)

If so, how did it affect your self esteem?

Did you stand up for yourself?

How did being bullied affect what you now know as "your depression?"

My story; in tenth grade, there was a bully who targeted me. (must have been my "latent compassion" that he somehow detected, and took advantage of....bullies always hone in on "weaknesses" in their victims) He tormented me all through the tenth grade, humiliating me in front of other people, playing mean practical jokes on me, even sometimes giving me undeserved punches. All this to the amusement and pleasure of his followers. (Bullies, regardless of how inhumane their behavior is, always seem to gather a following....sad to say) His bullying lowered my self esteem to all time lows. I felt powerless. I felt like a piece of shit. One day in the quad of the school (the central gathering place of students) he decided to inflict his meanness on me once again. As fate would have it, I had enough; I hauled off and gave him a great punch in the nose, from which he reeled in shock and pain. I was so infuriated, I didn't stop there, the next two punches, a left and a right, landed squarely in his stomach. He fell into a heap on the cement of the quad. Having won the fight, I then walked away. In the following days, I was shocked and surprised by the friendship and support I got from classmates, even some of those who had previously been part of his "following." Everyone agreed that he had been a jerk, and deserved a beating. Now, I'm not an advocate of violence, far from it. But I do think that we need to stand up to the bullies we sometimes run across. They must not be allowed to get away with it unchallenged. We all have a voice, let's all use it to stand up for what is right. No offence intended toward anyone......respectively posted toward the betterment of all DS members.