The LIKEME® Organization

Added May 12, 2011

Well I am a 30 female from Kansas. I have been overweight my whole life. So the bullying started at about age 8. As I grew up, my own family members would call me “Shamu The Whale” at the pool. That has caused me to really doubt who I was as a person. As all of this was going on I was a child going through a hard time.

When I was 4 years old, my mom died of a rare form of cancer. I would always look for pictures and things to know something about her. My so-called dad got remarried. The lady he married didn’t want any reminders of my mom around. She said it was fine that I talked about her, later I would come to find out that was not the case. When we became a blended family, there was a lot of hurt and anger. My so-called parents would fight like cats and dogs. They would use us kids as pawns. Then my so-called dad cheated on my adoptive mom. They filed for divorce 4 times and had it legally stopped 3 times. When you’re a child of divorce, it’s hard to deal with all of the crap parents can do and say to get you to see things their way. After the divorce you would think that parents would get along better, they didn’t. My so-called mom started seeing different guys. Then she came across the biggest jerk on the planet that would be later known as my step-dad. Well he doesn’t like me at all.

Sometime after they got together, I was a teenager with a silent rebelling streak, they had no idea what was going on at all. I would be one way when they were not around. And the good girl when i was around them. I had an idea that I was pregnant; I was stupid and denied the fact that I was pregnant for 7 and half months. I found out for sure on New Years Day. Later that day I would find out I was carrying two babies not one. Two weeks later I gave birth to twin girls. I tried to be mom for 6mths, I couldn’t do it. Mainly because I was told I wasn’t a good parent, and that I was doing things wrong all the time. So I gave them up for adoption to my mom and stepdad.

In the two years that the adoption took place I wasn’t really allowed to see them because my stepdad thought that I would take the twins from him, and he just never liked me. So from the time the twins were born I wanted my tubes tied. More so after the twins were born, as the adoption was going on, I felt like I couldn’t [bring] another child into this world and have the twins hate me for not keeping them and me keeping the newest child. So I got my tubes tied. It’s a hard thing to do. When your told you’re not a good parent or your doing things wrong. Would you want to have any more children? So do I regret what I have done? Sometimes yes and sometimes no. So there is a little piece of me.

Added May 12, 2011

After a 12-year relationship, my partner decides to secretly reconnect with friends through FB without mentioning it to me; often times there were 5-6 hour text sessions. And with several people, but one in particular that she was not FB friends with – and looking at her phone records (that she gave me) is was almost an obsession, this went on for about or more than 9 months.

When she lied about everything, the pain and betrayal was more than I could handle. The she said if you were with me, I would not really be able to "be myself". That was quite a shock because I was criticized for being me, and criticized for my past the entire 12 years together with her. I knew were unhealthy - she didn't respect me, we both became resentful of one another and she would not allow me to be my own individual as that is so important in a strong relationship. We talked about that before!!!

When I ran across this website, the motto; LIKE ME, it caught my eye and I thought oh, how true! Just what I am looking for. LIKE ME is about support, respect, being an individual and about who we are meant to be. Also, to seek out ways that we are all similar rather than ways we might be different....although it really is okay to be different and not agree, the goal in the happy individual is acceptance of one another and celebrate each other’s individuality.

When someone zaps your spirit and tries to "change" who you are - and most times the things they were initially attracted to you for....that’s when you know you are in trouble. If we would have known about this organization earlier and together - ..I think it may have been a start in therapy for us, but it’s too late now. All I can do is go forward and be the best person I can be - Be myself, and embrace those around me for - yes, being similar but also different and still showing respect and appreciation for those that ARE different.

I’m glad I found you anyway – it’s a start of positive change about to happen in my life.

Added March 26, 2011

I have know that I was lesbian since I was 4 years old but because I was raised in a Southern Baptist family, I knew early in my life that I would not be accepted comfortably, I remember being caught by my mother with a picture of my 2nd grade crush in my pocket. I remember her asking me why I had it and my heart was pounding so hard in my chest. I knew I had to lie and say that she was my best friend when in reality this girl barely knew I existed.

I had many crushes on girls, then women growing up and had to force myself to like guys. I vowed to never act on my feelings for women but hoped to settle down with a man that I could grow to like enough to have a family. Meanwhile, I studied hard and got great grades in school and a successful career and I was the pride and joy in my mother's life.

One day, at age 31, against all of my efforts, I fell deeply in love with a woman and slowly came out. I didn’t tell my mother but she figured it out after I lived with my partner for a year. My mother told me that God did not approve and that I was going to hell. She also said that "she wished I was never born". I was devastated because I had gone from her pride and joy to someone that she wished was never born all because of who I loved. We rarely spoke after that.

My partner and I were together 8 years and her family became my family. When we broke up, I was devastated because part of the cause of the breakup was the fear and insecurities that my family placed on me about being gay.

Now, after therapy and finding a church that is supportive of LGBT people, I realize that being gay is as natural to me as my brown eyes. God made me and he didn’t make a mistake. It would be against my nature to try and be with a man. I have learned to not let my mother's feelings dictate my happiness. We have a relationship where she knows that she can’t change me and we try to agree to disagree.

It does get better. You just have to be willing to live to make yourself happy and not try to live your life for other people.

Added March 26, 2011

I always knew I didn't fit in with the rest of my friends growing up though I did everything to fit in. That includes being boy crazy, dating lots of popular boys, etc. It is hard to explain, but I truly did not know other gay people existed until in college. There was the stereotypical gay boy that attended my high school and the lesbian volleyball coach, but I didn't really look at them in a different light. They weren't "like me". In my mind they were gay but it wasn't something that was a possibility for me. Gay people only existed on TV or in a very far distance but not in my world.

My first day at college I was invited to a party with some friends on the woman's basketball team. My total oblivious 18 year old self was blown away when they informed me all these girls, who were exactly like me in almost every way, were all lesbians. I instantly realized that all those weird friendships that oddly gave me butterflies weren't normal, at least not for a straight girl. I was gay.

Obviously I struggled. I came from an incredibly conservative family. I dated girls, but always dated guys on the side because I knew that was my only option to remain a member of my family. Being gay wasn't an option. I tried to "straight live" my gayness away. I fell in love with a girl at age 19. A year later I broke her heart, and mine, when I said I thought I was straight. I was getting a lot of pressure from my parents to date guys. I had a boyfriend that was in the Marines, and was stationed in Afghanistan for 6 months and lived on base. It was real easy to have a relationship and convince myself I was in love when the only communication we had was letters and the occasional phone call. I tried so hard to make it work, but I found myself crying myself to sleep after the few dates I did get with him because the feelings I had for him felt so superficial. I knew I was denying myself true love, but I was willing to sacrifice everything for him because I did care for him and my parents loved him and we would've made the perfect Midwest couple. Luckily after a while I realized I could no longer lead him, myself, or my family on. I ended it and instantly my parents questioned my motives for being single.

I begged and pleaded my way back into my ex's arms because the whole time I was with trying to live straight, no feelings I ever felt with anyone were as nearly as strong as the feelings I had for her. Aside from a few rough patches we have been together ever since. One of those rough patches included my parents finally confronting me about my sexuality. After almost 4 years of lying to them, I couldn't do it anymore. I told them the truth, I told them I was in love, and I wasn't changing. My father disowned me that very day. I've tried several times to make amends but my parents want nothing to do with me as long as I'm still gay. I have 6 siblings who are no longer allowed to communicate with me and have to sneak to see/talk to me. Unfortunately two of them are 8 and 9 and I haven't seen them since they were 4 and 5. I miss them so much and it pains me to know they are told I ran away and want nothing to do with them (in my parent's eyes that what I did - I chose to be gay, therefore I chose to leave my family).

I am currently living with my girlfriend (now fiancé, we are getting married this summer!!!!!!). I am a high school teacher and coach in an inner city school. Every year I have 5 to 10 kids confide in me that they are gay/lesbian. Many of them have no parental role models at home they can talk to. I am the only adult they have to talk to and I don't want them to feel like they are ever alone. Unfortunately I'm still afraid to say those words to them, "I'm gay" even though they all know it. Despite that, I hope that I can still be a role model from them. I don't ever want them to think that being gay is going to hold them back from their dreams. I am gay, and am I'm doing more than I ever thought I would have when I first realized I was gay. I love my life, my "family", my career, and I love that I'm a lesbian.

Added March 26, 2011

Well, here we go. At a young age I knew I was gay and just like everyone else, I had to hide it; either due to embarrassing my folks or shaming them or just a fear? It wasn’t so much about my mom because she treated me like crap my whole childhood. So yeah, it was my dad I didn’t want to hurt. I was his little girl..ya know? Even though I didn’t see myself in that way, I wanted to grow up and be just like my dad. I learned at very young age that my parents didn’t know what to do with me in any way, shape, or form. In their mind as long as there was a roof over my head, food in my stomach, and clothes on my back I didn’t "need" anything else. Truth of the matter is, I did! But this was the way my parents were; never a conversation of “how was your day?” , no kisses, no hugs, no “good job”, nothing! Don’t get me wrong, I learned a lot from them, everything from how to manage money to how to change my oil, but never love, it just wasn’t there. So i did the only thing I knew that I had complete control over; I sunk my soul in to country music, and poetry. It was the only place or thing they couldn’t affect. I was right, they didn’t. It was almost like they didn’t care. So this was how I handled my time for the longest time.

Then when I was 10 we joined a campground. At the time I didn’t know how much being in that environment would open me up. When I was younger I didn’t have any friends. I wasn’t allowed to play with other kids. I eventually met new kids whose parents treated them totally different. So what was I doing wrong? The kids I was hanging out with acted worse than I ever did or even thought of being. Yet there was love there. I just didn’t understand.

The years went by and I began to come into my own with help of friends. I fell in love with a girl, at the campground, when I was 15, as she did with me. We were inseparable. You didn’t find one of us without the other. We were able to hide from everybody for a while; until one day my mom was looking all over for me, which was out of the ordinary. Normally they’d leave me note back at the camper, but not this time. You see, with this girl I didn’t have to hide. I could be myself, and I guess I got wrapped up in the moment. Basically, my mom caught a glimpse of us thru a mini blind kissing. BUSTED!!!! My mom yelled at me until I came outside. Then calmingly she said " you (me), at the camper....now" and you (my friend)...."I don’t care where you go". I followed my mom and the whole time she’s mumbling "wait till your dad hears about this" and the whole time I’m thinking "she going to freaking kill me, and throw me in the woods....oh god, nobody will ever find me". But then out of the blue it hit me like a brick wall; why is she caring now? Why is she caring what I’m doing? The past 15 yrs I’ve been ignored. Why now? We had a good half mile walk, so the more I thought about it the madder I got. Then the closer I got to the camper, the more I kept hearing (in my head) “I’m going to kill you”. I wanted to run because I knew if my mom got her hands on me that she’d hurt me a lot more than what she had in the past. But I didn’t. We walked up to the camper and I sat down outside. I was a little bit safer out there. My mom grabbed my dad and went inside. I could hear mom say "Guess what I just caught our daughter doing?". I wish my dad hadn’t been blindsided like that. This wasn’t the way for him, or them, to find out. But it was out of my hands by this point so I sat there as the world around me just kind of stopped.

I remember thinking, and worrying about the girl? What’s going to happen? Can they stop me from seeing her? But on the other hand, what can they do? This wasn’t going to be the first or last girl in my life. I was gay. I knew it. I’ve known it. It was time for me. It was time that my parents realized that I, there one and only daughter, was gay. It was now or never. I was tired of being hurt by them. With every ounce of my being I took a deep breath, came back to reality, and waited for the worst. Then the camper door swung open. There I was face-to-face with my parents. Dad was yelling "What were you thinking? She’s a girl!!!" and all i could say was "I know dad. I know. I’m sorry. I’m sorry." I wasn’t sorry for being who I am. I was sorry for the way they found out. Dad said “I don’t want this to ever, ever happen again!" Now not only did my parents know I was gay, but so did everyone else around us in the campsite. I remember dad’s eyes. They sunk down in disappointment. I had hurt him. But I knew it had to be done and I had rather they find out from me and not someone else.

The deed was done. The silence was broke. My dad decided that he was going to go fishing, which was his way of dealing with things. He started to pull off while moms asking him “What do I do with her now?” Dad replied, as calm as he could “I don’t care.” Dad drove off and my mother went back in to the camper. She then comes right back out and yelled “You’re grounded to the camper!” I’d never been "grounded" before in my life! What where that talking about? Moments later my friend (the one I was kissing) pulled up in her car and asked if everything was ok? “No!” I said, “I am grounded to the camper!” Before we could breathe my mom came out the camper and said "I think you need to leave. You’re a good girl and you need to go before I get your parents involved." My mother knew what she was doing because she knew that my friend would leave. She knew just how to get to me and it worked. My friend drove off and it didn’t me much because I knew I’d be able to see her the next weekend.

The next day we (my family and I) packed up and headed home. A few weeks of silence went by and we fell back into our old ways. I’d still get to see my friend on the weekends but only at my camper and not anywhere else. At the time I took what I could get. Sometime during all of this, my friend had told her parents that I was gay; not that we were together, just that I was gay and that my parents were treating me horribly. They agreed to "save" me for as long as they could. They’d come pick me up take me to their house for weeks at a time. They treated me like I was their own and it worked out for everybody. I got to spend time with my friend and they’d get extra help on the farm, and well, my folks.....they didn’t have to put up with me.

A few months of this went by and I could tell my friend was growing tired of the whole situation of only being able to see each other on weekends and so forth. During the week she would date a guy and on the weekends she’d date me. This didn’t last long because we both couldn’t take being weekend lovers. Even though we knew it would hurt, we decided to just be friends. We haven’t talked since then. I’m ok with that because I was able to learn how to love. Love was something I knew NOTHING about until then.

I started getting picked on more at school and at home. Anytime my mom could she’d take a "gay" shot at me with jokes and jesters right to my face. I wished for the silent treatment back. I begged for it. We got in more fights, but the more we fought, the meaner she was. It had gotten to the point where I was on house arrest. I wasn’t able to go out with friends and if there was an extra female in the group I couldn’t go. I was only allowed to leave the house with family. This went on for about a year. It was everywhere. I couldn’t run from it. I thought coming out was hard but that was easy compared to what I was going thru now. I was lying in bed one night, feeling mad and hurt because of something mom said and I couldn’t take it any more so i got up, in the middle of the night, and went to the bathroom. There in the mirror was a person who was proud of who she was, but at the same time was dying because who she was. I grabbed a razor blade out of the cabinet and ran it hard across my wrist. I started bleeding instantly. For the first time in my life I felt relieved that I had no worries, that I wouldn’t be a burden to my parents anymore. Honestly, it felt great, but then I felt pain and light-headedness. I grabbed a rag and pressed it to my wrist as hard as I could while cleaning up the mess.

I knew my mom would be mad if she saw the mess...not me, the mess. After it was cleaned I stepped out of the bathroom and sat down in chair in the living room not knowing that my mom was sitting on the couch. She asked "What are you doing?" and I just turned to her and she saw my rag. She jumped up and went and got my dad. It was about 3 in the morning, so dad wasn’t happy to be woken up. They kept asking me over and over "What are you doing?" I couldn’t say a word. Mom grabbed me by the wrist. By this time it (my wrist) had stopped bleeding and she threw my arm at me. It hit my chest and fell to my lap. I remember not shedding a tear. I was completely calm, other than the screams inside my head and my heart, screaming for attention, love, help, something! But yet again I received nothing.

When we got back home my parents went back to bed and so did I. We got up the next morning and mom threw me a watch at me and said "Here, wear this today!" So I did. I wore a watch to cover up my pain. We went to breakfast like nothing ever happened. Luckily my aunt and uncle came over later and dad told them what had happened the night before. I remember my uncle coming up to me, put his arms around me, and said "Let’s go". So I did. We went to a drive-in movie and I didn’t have to say a word. One thing about my uncle is that he had stood up for me A LOT when I couldn’t and I love him for that.

Some time went by. By this time I was 17, and mom and I were still going at it. But one good thing was it was only at home now; school was ok. My peers were starting to accept me. One day, out of nowhere, I met the love of my life. She was my safe place from the beginning. It took us a little while to get things going but once they did my life got better. I invited her to supper one night and I introduced her to my parents and said she was my girlfriend and she wasn’t going anywhere. Again there was no response from them, just the look of contempt. I was fine with that.

It wasn’t long after that I moved out of parent’s house. I just couldn’t deal with it any more. A situation came up and I had to move back in for a while and of course, I had rules. My girlfriend I continued to date for awhile and my parents started treating me a little better. Things were finally starting to feel good. I had a little more freedom and my parents actually liked my girlfriend. But I got jealous of the way others were talking and looking at her. I just couldn’t handle it, even though she loved me like nobody else could. I trusted her with my life. I did the one thing in my life that I regret and walked away from her.

11 or 12 years went by. My parents finally admitted they could "handle" me being gay but they couldn’t handle me being with some of the girls I was with. I guess that was their way of saying they accept me, so I took it for what it was worth. I’m now back with my old girlfriend (my high school sweetheart) but through the years, and the tears, I forgave my mom and have grown closer with my father. As for my girlfriend and I, well....were still going strong!

I spent most of my young life in the closet. When I finally did come out I was told by my father that he would rather I was dead. Threatened and abused as a child that if I were to come out I would be killed by my father I was rather afraid to live truthfully. I was told several things by my father about Gays and what he would do if any of his kids were gay. So in the closet I stayed. I tried to kill myself when I was a freshman in college because I could not take it anymore. I successfully managed to mess my back up permanently. I finally came to the realization that I needed to be true to myself and came out. I obviously lived and am happy I did. I met in 1994 a wonderful woman and we have been together ever since. I do not have enough space here to type my entire story and have been told I should write my life story because it is one of inspiration and triumph. I believe it to be so and I will embark on this journey and hope it helps others who are like me. If you are reading this know you are not alone and you are loved.

I'm 19 years old. I'm gay. In junior high, I barely knew who I was, but people who had even less of an idea of who I was than I did thought it was okay to judge and harass me. It got better. It got better because my friends were there for me. It gets better if we're there for each other in the moment and we realize that someone who seems so different on the outside is, on the inside, just like us. Today I am more confident in my dreams to be a country music singer-songwriter. Chely Wright is an inspiration.

Well, I wish I could say my Coming Out and early life as a lesbian was all sweetness, bunny rabbits and candy canes but it wasn't. When I told my mum, she looked at me and went; "Yeah, I know. Put the kettle on, but don't tell your stepdad!" it was hugely anticlimactic really. My Nan was equally as unphased by the whole thing. Which, for an 80 year old, was pretty cool!

Not everyone around me was as supportive. At Secondary school (high school) I was bullied relentlessly by various members of the staff, because I wasn't a 'proper girl' and didn't wear all the 'proper' fashions and skirts that would've made a hooker blush. Maybe I should have hidden myself, not been as obvious but I was a stubborn kid and refused to. They were big on telling us to be ourselves and so I did! Why should I hide to make the bullies feel better when I'm doing nothing wrong?

The more comfortable I felt in my own sexuality, the worse the bullying got. It all came to a head when my stepdad found out. He was immensely homophobic anyway, despite our family having many gay and lesbian friends. One evening, after a huge argument in our house, he chased me, pinned me to the bed and punched me in the face. I defended myself the only way I had and kicked him in the face. My mother refused to believe that he would both punch me, and say the horrid things he did. I packed up a few things and moved to my Nan’s that same night.

For weeks they begged me to move back home, I refused until he'd admitted what he'd done. In the end, he did admit to my mother that he had hit me and that’s why I'd kicked him. We met up and discussed some issues and he promised to try and be more accepting and understanding and I moved back home on the understanding that if he ever laid a finger on me again, I would call the police and I would press charges. Eventually, he learned that being gay is just like anything else. I didn't grow horns or start eating small children or doing any of the other terrifying things I can only imagine he thought would happen. He eventually grew enough as a person to try setting me up on dates. It was truly weird. As my circle of gay friends grew, I spent more than a few Friday and Saturday nights at my local gay bar where well, there was a clear segregation. There were the friendly people who welcomed most new people with open arms, then there was everyone else, in their established little clusters who never let anyone it. Also weird.

It was one night, on my way home from said bar that I encountered the real scary kind of homophobia. I was walking on my own and a couple of guys started shouting things, 'filthy dyke' 'you just need a real man, like me' that sort of rubbish. I ignored them and hoped they'd go away! They didn't. They followed me off the main road and through a small estate when they started running after me, still shouting abuse and jumped me, hitting me and threatening to do worse. It was only by chance that a police car drove past and scared them off. I managed to catch their attention, bleeding and bruised and told them what happened. For whatever reason, they didn't seem too bothered, didn't really take a statement or go and look for the offenders. So I went home and carried on. My family were concerned about my injuries but seemed more worried that I was walking through the estate on my own in the early hours rather than the fact I'd been attacked because I was gay. A few weeks after, a group of us saw the same guys that attacked me and they were looking pretty bad. Someone had obviously given them a beating and, when they passed me and my friends they hung their heads and wouldn't make eye contact. I can only assume they'd picked on the wrong person. Thankfully, that was the worst I'd ever had to deal with. It did get better, I know it's a cliché but it did. Our local police now have a dedicated officer who deals solely with hate crime and homophobic crimes.

Now I'm just gay, it’s just one of those things about me, like I have blue eyes. No one really bothers about it, I'm treated by my friends and family and most other people, just like anyone else and it’s not even an issue. I guess when you're a teenager and just growing into yourself that these things seem huge but once you become an adult and, most importantly are happy in who you are, it is less of an issue for yourself and everyone else.

Now well, where I live there is action, there are many groups who support LGBT teens and the police are making the effort. It's not such a scary thing to be gay here. I can walk down the street holding a woman’s hand and while there are a few people who have to stop and stare, I don't feel scared. I can just be.

I thank my best friend and all those friends who came and went who taught me that you have to be true to who you are and be comfortable in yourself. The bullies might not go away but they will get their own and things will change for the better because the LGBT people of the world are not a small group, they have a voice and we use it... LOUDLY! If you're reading this and have had a similar experience, you have to talk to someone, anyone, a teddy bear will do to start with. Get your feelings out there and make yourself heard to someone because hiding and fearing are the two most self destructive things a human can do. You get knocked down but you have to get back up, grow a nice thick skin and refuse to go away because the bullies of the world are everywhere, in politics, in schools and in the workplace. The only way to change things is to fight back and make yourself heard, stand up and make things better for yourself. Easy? No, but it is possible.

I grew up in a not so small but very religious town. When I was eight my father left us because he was gay. It wasn't long after that time that I realized I like girls, but I was determined not to be gay. My church said it was wrong, my friends said it was gross, my mother said it was wrong, and my father was hated just for being gay so I was NOT going to be gay. I went through my teenage years dating guys because it was the right thing to do. I would pray to God "Please make me normal, I want to be normal.", but it never happened. I wanted so badly to be into guys like all my friends. I was once asked "So what kind of guys do you like?", and I didn't have an answer because "I don't like guys" wasn't an appropriate answer for a nice Christian girl.

When I went to high school there were some girls that everyone knew were lesbians and I would always hear my friends say "That’s so gross" or, the worst was, "They shouldn't be allowed to be here"(at church). My senior year of high school I kissed my first girl. Somehow that got back to the people I went to church with, and not to subtly I noticed I wasn't in the "in crowd" anymore. I was no longer called on to help the tweens and was removed from the nursery staff with no explanation. And then I found myself in a place where I didn't fit in anywhere. The people who I went to church shunned me because I had kissed a girl and the non-church people wouldn't even give me a chance because I was that Christian girl who didn't cuss, smoke, drink, or do drugs. I ended up dropping out of church not to long after that because I felt more alone in the church than out. I graduated from high school and moved away from my home town. I wanted a fresh start.

I came out of the closet at 18 to the people that I was close to. I won’t say that was an easy process by far but it could have turned out much worse. My dad told me he already knew. My mother wasn't happy but she didn't disown me. I had friends that decided they couldn’t be my friend and that hurt but I moved on. I wanted to go to college but my grades weren't good enough to get in so I decided to go to a Christian college and was faced with the decision to lie about being gay or risk not being accepted. Since I wanted so badly to make my life better I chose to lie because this was my chance. So at the age of 19 back in the closet I went. I made it through the first year just fine. My sophomore year I decided to move off campus with a group of friends. Living off campus allowed me to meet people outside of the school. I soon met a gay couple who lived in our neighbourhood. I then found myself having an ultimatum I had to choose "the lifestyle or school", and sitting in the Dean’s office that day I decided I was tired of living two me's. I left school that semester and once again the Christian community had left a bad taste in my mouth. It took a lot of very long conversations with God to realize it was religion and not God who had shunned me. I'm now 26 and completely out of the closet and very okay with myself.

About the time I started the 3rd grade, I felt different from the other girls. My tomboy look was beginning to show and I knew that I liked the way girls/women "carried" themselves. It was then that I began to seek girls like me. I'm 43 now, and I'm still seeking. It was about that time too that I was introduced to prejudice and bullies. I experienced it from teachers and children. I know it's taught, because I had not felt that before. Children said things to me that only adults could have told them. It's the only way they could have known. Children are taught at home to be prejudice. Parents say things in front of their children ... the child repeats at school. Children are programmed.

• A bully is insecure, so they look for those that seem insecure too.
• A bully, too, looks for "likeme".
• A bully is jealous.
• A bully is being bullied at home, school ... by someone, so they want others to feel what they feel.
• A bully has mental issues.