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| Bullying Picture Source: Shutter Shock |
"Every new day was like a new episode of horror series for me. I was in the leading role because I was the victim. And a punch changes everything upside down."
That was me, thin and small with no courage in me to fight for myself and my good. Because of this, I had been kicked down on floor, locked in bathrooms, pushed around, called names and I was finished with it. No one was going to play with my innocence anymore. No was either going to bully me any more. That is how I felt when I was in my fourth grade, when for years I had been subjected to torment by my seniors and few strong peers.
Flourishing Center was a newly established non graded school, which meant that we never received grades but only a "pass" or "fail". It was a progressive approach to education, but the playground and the halls were not as modern as one might expect. The issue of bullying still abounded. Perhaps even more so, with troubled children coming to the school to find an easier footing in the Bagmati State educational system. Though I had been bullied for as long as I remember, it never stopped. Pacifism had not done its purported job. I had become helpless.
It was my birthday in fourth grade when I got a best gift I had wished for in that period of my life from my beloved mom, a basket ball. Though I had a short height, it was my favorite sport of all times. I loved watching theatrics and the intense pace of game. Sometimes in the absence of my friendly mood and charming smile on my face, there was nothing better than going to a hoop and shooting basketball and dribbling around. It had always been a type of therapy for me.
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| A girl being mocked up by group of girls. Picture Source: Dream Times |
I didn't want to leave my new ball behind, so I decided to take my new basketball to my school. I wanted to shoot some hoops during recess. After only few shots a big kid came to me and snatched a ball away from me with a big force. At that moment something surged within me. It was a rage I had never known. It must have been cultivating inside me through all these years of being bullied and mocked. Without a thought, I punched that kid in the face as hard as I could. It seemed like an uncontrolled force made me do it- purely out of instinct. All the pain and shame I felt powered my punch, and knocked the kid down into a crying fit. This very new news reached in principal's dormitory.
The principal with no actions in me called my mother in a calm voice and told her about my actions. My mother seemed indifferent about it and thought it was the best that I fought back. She had always wished me to do so as she had seen me passing through my hard phase.
I think she was right, because after this fight, no one bothered to bully me again, until middle school.
Now, here I am completing my middle school. I think ," That unplanned punch, which simply means violence was the best answer I chose."
Written By: Tripti Centuri, Grade 10, Bloom Nepal School
Edited By: Pransu Khakurel (Canopy Nepal)
Tripti is an SEE aspirant of Bloom Nepal School who has been supported by the Canopy Nepal Scholarship Project. Aspiring to be a medical professional and help the community, she loves reading and writing her thoughts on different issues prevailing in the society, particularly revolving around the children's lives in form of stories.
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