“I don’t know why they chose me out of all of these other students,” Marie Anne (not her real name) says with a tear falling down her cheek, “but during one of my first times changing in the girl’s locker room, a gang of girls began to look at me and laugh. They pointed out a scar I have on my stomach from a surgery I had when I was 10 and they spread rumors saying I received a C-Section, abortion, etc. It’s a cruel thing for them to have said, but they didn’t care. As long as people laughed with them, as long as they got attention, they didn’t care.”

Marie Anne, an alias for a Colton High School student, claims she was bullied since her freshmen year at Colton High School and it didn’t stop until the end of her sophomore year when her bullies were transferred to Slover.

This isn’t surprising. Bullying is an everyday issue, not just in Colton, but in the whole country. Daily, 170,000 miss school because they are afraid of being bullied. Each month, 280,000 students are physically abused in Middle Schools around the country. Studies from BuckFire & BuckFire, P.C. show that one out of every four students will face abusive bullying in their high school life. One in five  students admit to either being the bully or the bullied. 43% of students are scared and or fear being harassed in a school restroom. Since 2014, 77% of students admit they are physically, verbally, mentally or cyber bullied. This percentage is still growing and doesn’t seem like it’s going to stop any time soon.

“There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t remember them,” Marie Anne says with a sigh, “but we all just have to move past it and go on with our daily life. At least, that’s what I choose to do.”

If bullying is causing you or someone you love stress, say something. See your counselor. Help is available.