Twenty years ago, Annica, 36, was a high school student. While her classmates may have happy memories of that time, Annica has only scars, as she was constantly bullied at the time. So this spring, when Annica received an invitation to a class reunion, she was surprised that she had even been invited. Then after her shock subsided a bit, she decided to write her former bullies a message.
When Annica was in the eighth grade 20 years ago, she was bullied.
“For me, high school a time that broke me down until there wasn’t much left of me left. The loneliness and hopelessness I felt was palpable and was something that I unfortunately had to relate to every day,” said Annica.
When Annica started ninth grade, she changed classes, which helped a lot. But she still had a negative opinion of herself.
Then this spring, Annica received a Facebook invitation for a class reunion that would of course include her former bullies. Annica said it felt uncomfortable to read the announcement. So after thinking a bit, she decided to address her bullies in a post on the Facebook event page.
Here is her entire post:
“Dear Class 9C. Thank you for the invitation to our 20th anniversary.
It’s hard to believe it’s been so long since we finished high school. Sometimes, it still feels like yesterday. How fun that you can look back on those years with such fond memories! For me, it was the darkest period of my life. You may remember that I changed classes in eighth grade. I did that to avoid the sudden silence that would happen when I walked by in the hallway, the mocking laughter that I heard behind my back, and the chilly glances I received in the classroom. That some of you in our class devoted yourself to bullying me is a known fact.
The funny thing about bullying is that it never really disappears. Even after 20 years, I can still hear that little voice in my head telling me I’m useless, though I know logically that it’s not true. However, I’m sure you’re good people today. Maybe some of you have kids. In that case, I hope they don’t wake up with a big lump in their stomach every morning when they go to school. Because no one deserves that.
PS: Instead of spending money on a trip to our reunion, I’ve donated $250 to Friends.” (an anti-bullying organization)
Since Annica’s post has been shared on the Friends Facebook page a few days ago, more than 5,000 people have shared it and 45,000 people have liked it.
Annica says that writing her bullies was scary, but she says it felt good to tell them what she went through in high school.
After her announcement, Annica has been contacted by some of her old classmates. While she appreciates that they reached out to her, she says she’d rather that they admit what they did to her back in high school. Because even to this day, Annica sometimes feels bad because of the bullying she was subjected to back then.
I think it’s extremely good that Annica wrote this post. She’s so courageous! I hope her post helps others in the same situation and inspires people. Together we must stop bullying.
Please share Annica’s post to celebrate her courage and to let others know that we must put an end to bullying once and for all.
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