Authors, Blogger and Readers against Bullying.

Bullying is a huge word that is being thrown around the book world these days. Authors and reviewers are being accused of being cyber bullies (and sometimes they are). I think we all tend to forget that a huge amount of us were/are bullied in real life. We are the misfits, the people that don't fit in. We find solace in books, reading and writing them. The Sparring Sisters have started this wonderful campaign. Authors, bloggers, and bookie's all are joining together to take a stand. How cool is that.

My bullying story isn't really that big. I am overweight and have been my whole life. I am poor and have been my whole life. Of course I got made fun of in school. Of course, my self confidence sucked which just made things worse. Here's the thing about being made fun of; it can have several effects on a person. It can make someone work harder to fit in. Or it can just tear you down til you just don't care about yourself anymore. The  second is what happened to me. Not that I normally put a lot of effort into my looks, even now. I just didn't care. I was accused of being a lesbian, of having sex with animals. I was ignored and treated like I didn't exist. I remember when I got my ACT scores back (I got a 28 on my one and only try. That's a pretty high score) and my guidance counselor was such a meanie about it too. He was all like we were surprised you did this good. LOL. I missed no less than 40-60 days a year and maintained a 3.6 gpa. Yeah, I think I got something going on in my head.

I was lucky. I wasn't treated as badly as some of you at school. And honestly, what they dished out was small potatoes to what I got from my older sister. I love the girl but good gosh was she a bully when we were growing up. I'm not going to go into specifics but she literally made my life a living hell. Anyway, long story short. Yes, life moves on. Yes, it gets better as you get older. But for the love of all that is good. I beg parents to teach their children respect for all things. No matter how different people deserve to be treated like human beings. It starts at home. It really does.

I love you all.

Lori