When I was in elementary school, I was always avictim of bullying. Probably it was because of my miniature phenotypeor because I never talked a lot. One unpleasant thing to remember isthat the other children liked to pick on me. I can remember severalinstances where the big boys made fun of my outfit. Others were cruelenough to make me do their assignments for them. Those that did notget a good grade always led to more bullying. Of course, I was tootimid to report any of these occurrences to my parents or teachers.The threats from the bullies also intensified my fear.
The bullying experience took a toll on me inthat I still have no friends I can remember we went to the sameelementary school. The experience made me hate everybody that we wentto the same school with. Even now when they reach out to me onFacebook, I always shun their advances. However, the experience mayhave also been a blessing in disguise because it made me concentratemore on my studies. I remember the numerous awards that I used to bagat the end of each school semester. Towards the end of elementaryschool, I resolved that I had had enough of bullying. I decided thatonce I was going to join high school, I would not be a victim ofbullying anymore.
My first idea of making myself bully-proof wasto work out in the gym. Initially, I thought that visiting the gymand lifting the weights would rapidly inflate my muscles and make melook bigger. I thought to myself that if I joined high school lookingbigger, then I would no longer be a victim of bullying. I alsothought that the perceived strength I would obtain from attending thegym would give me an opportunity to defend myself physically when thesituation comes to worse.
Needless to say, my first day at the gym was ahorrifying experience. The bench press, the squats, and the deadlifts almost tore my tendons apart. I did not lift that much weight,but I still felt like I was going to collapse. I had decided to nevervisit the gym again and leave to fate everything that was going to mein high school. However, I realized that I had joined the gym for thewrong reason. The realization motivated me to go back to the gym eventhough I felt pain in areas that I never knew would hurt because of aworkout. From then henceforth I was a regular visitor to the gym. Mydream of gaining more weight in order to defend myself from thebullies slowly fades away. I was now doing it for a greater cause.
The learning experience changed my life in thatI gained confidence, discipline, commitment and resilience. Inaddition to gaining weight to prevent me from bullies, I also becamestrong enough to join sports in high school. Sometimes I am thankfulfor the bullying experience in elementary school because it pushed meto realize my potential. The learning experience changed my life fromvarious directions. I was able to make friends in high school, havebetter relations with my parents, and perform better in my academics.Due to the learning experience created by the gym, I am still loyalto my cause up to this day.