I was bullied in school

School was not my best time! I was a shy, timid boy in a school of only boys. Trouble?

I was in the second standard when I had started to complain at home about school. My parents took their own time but it finally emerged that some other things other than studies or the teachers were boggling me down. Yes! The class bullies. They would say mean things and do mean things to me.

Back then my bench mates were the ‘good kids’. They always scored well; they had good ranks. They did their home-works well. They were from rich families. They were the exact antagonism of ‘bullies’. However, I was constantly ridiculed by all the three of them. They would hide my stuffs. They chopped off my erasers. They would break my pencil leads. They drew mean sketches in my books and note-books. One time they decided to pick their noses and stick up the pages of my book with the mucus! I was scared to go to school. I would make up excuses not to go to school- toothache, headache, stomach ache and the works. The ghastly images of those days will be indelibly imprinted in my head.

Always at the receiving end, I was never able to give them back. So much that at one point my parents sent my cousins (who were at the same school) to ‘help’ me out. They did come to the class. They were seniors and themselves bullies. Rather than helping me, they provoked the bullies and left me stranded among them! Talk about reconciliation!

Every day we would have one bench to clean the entire class. This would mean to broom the floor and dusting the teacher’s desk and chair. This was standard 5th. I went to the storeroom to get the broomstick. As I was inside the dark, unventilated room, they closed the door behind my back. I shouted and cried for help but nobody listened. I must have been inside for several minutes. When the door finally opened I was welcomed in the open with loud jeers!

As we grew up (or did we?), the intensity and context of the bullying increased. I was in 6th standard. I was urinating when a bunch of seniors came and turned me around thus, flashing me to everybody present. I was utterly embarrassed and tried to cover up the act by fastening the zip as hurriedly as possible; but the harm was already done. I felt ‘exposed’. I shivered at the harrowing idea of this ‘story’ being circulated around. Boy! Am I glad that back then school kids didn’t use video phones?

I remember always feeling like an alien in the class. As a result of all these mocking and bullying, my self confidence sunk low. I went from being a quiet child to an introvert. Teachers hardly knew my name. I was never into anything other than the books and exams. Come to think of it now, I was majorly spared from two things- name calling and physical abuse. I can’t even start to think how that would have gone.

It is important for a kid to make friends in school. The psyche of a kid is influenced a lot by anything which takes place in his early life. Childhood can indeed be marred with many a not so great experiences. Intervention by the parents and teachers would be the ideal thing to help any kid who is being bullied. Luckily I turned out just fine with my friends or my grades. It went on to improve once school got over. I miss school for few of my teachers and friends albeit I would still choose to hate my school days!