Growing up, I had the same group of girlfriends ever since I was in kindergarten. The same seven girls and I celebrated all of our milestones together: our first kisses, graduating, going to high school, and our first dances. By my senior year of high school, I decided to venture out and associate with other groups of friends. Although my old group of friends were great, I felt the need to meet new people before high school ended.
At first, the new group of girls I made friends with were very nice. We would go clubs, (18 and under!) to parties, and go the mall. I was having the time of life! But, in the middle of my senior year, things began to change. I noticed that some of the girls were bullying girls that were less fortunate. At first I didn’t think much of it. But as the year began to wind down, I noticed it more and more. When I was alone with one girl, they would talk badly about other girls in the group. I kept thinking to myself, what are they saying about me when I’m not there?
After I graduated high school, I realized that I had had enough. I kind of disappeared from the group. They didn’t take this kindly. After hearing about how they were mad at me through the grapevine, I decided to ignore it. They would get over it, right? Wrong.
One evening in the fall, I signed onto MySpace. Posted on the site was a picture of me with a Summer’s Eve box over my face. The girl who had made the picture posted it all around MySpace, to several girls’ MySpace pages. I was humiliated. I laid in bed all night sobbing. The damage was debilitating.
So, I took action. I called the girl and asked her nicely to take down the picture. I knew that yelling or starting a fight would only make the drama worse. I knew that being kind and calm would be the best solution. I told her nicely that I would take legal action if the photo wasn’t taken down. She agreed to take down the picture, and it was removed.
Today, I no longer associate with any of these girls. I have completely shut them out of my life. I do not tolerate bullies or cyber bullying by any means. Even though this occurred nearly 10 years ago, the damage is done, and it can never be removed. Always think twice before you post, because what you post on the Internet is stuck there forever.
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