A Spell of Survival from a Former Target
đ Before the Curtain Fell
I was aware of bullying before I was ever bullied.
The summer before 5th grade, I even wrote a little play about it. My teacher had this charming marionette theater in her classroom, and I was absolutely enchanted watching older students put on puppet shows. So I thoughtâwhy not write one about standing up to bullies? It felt important.
âď¸ A Plot Twist I Didnât See Coming
Then life decided to throw in its own cruel rewrite.
At just 10 years old, I ended up in the hospital for three weeks fighting for my life. I caught pneumonia at the pediatricianâs officeâjust a routine visit for the fluâand it wrecked me. My left lung collapsed. Twice.
Two lung collapses and three chest tubes later, I came home different.
My hair went limp, then frizzed like it didnât know what to do anymore. My energy was gone. My body softened. I had changed, and middle school kids have a sixth sense for sniffing that out.
đˇď¸ From Puppet Strings to Punchlines
My so-called âfriendsâ started calling me Hagrid Head.
They mocked my hair, my clothes, my weight.
I wore skirts over jeans and hoodies that swallowed me whole, thinking maybe invisibility was possible if I tried hard enough.
It wasnât.
By the time my mom started looking for apartmentsâsplitting from my dadâI asked her the one thing I never thought I would:
Can we leave Springport?
And to her creditâwe did.
đ Surviving the System
That move saved me. I managed to dodge the bully radar for the rest of my school years, skimming the surface just enough to breathe. But I canât say the same for my siblings.
Jessie got bullied for helping a special needs classmate.
Demi got bullied for standing up to their own friends when they started bullying someone else.
Because apparently, kindness is a threat in public school.
⨠The Magic Between the Landmines
Honestly? School sucked. Except when it didnât.
There were teachers who saw us. Friends who made it better. Moments of magic between the landmines. But I still think about that little girl who wrote a play about bullyingâonly to walk into her own starring role a few months later.
This oneâs for her.
And for every kid who felt safer in a hoodie.
For every sibling who stood up and paid the price.
For anyone who learned early how to survive a system that lets cruelty hide behind lockers and laughter.
đĄď¸ The Armor We Earned
Some of us didnât come out with medals.
We came out with armor.
And sometimes? Thatâs enough.
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