Laura's story

I have never really told many people how far the bullying got; I don't think my mum even knows really.

I have never been slim, but I was never that big, yeah I am overweight but not by that much-I have never been anywhere close to being obese and I don't have a double chin or rolls on my stomach except when I sit down. Yet in the latter years of primary school I was constantly called fat by boys and a Laura's storyfew mean girls, they would try and lift up my jumper and say things like-"She's got a pillow up her top, oh wait it's just her fat stomach,". I did have some close friends but my best friend who was also plumper and overweight was one year older and at a different school, she understood how I felt as she was bullied because of the steroids she has to take for her arthritis (from birth) made her gain weight.

The real bullying started when I reached secondary school, the first few week were good until a girl from my old primary school joined late as she was ill and started telling people lies and how I was so fat I have once made a chair collapse, people were soon making fun of me and calling me names and soon the friends I had made were too embarrassed to hang out with me and I got really depressed. I was confused as well because at my biggest I was only a size 14/16 and never more than 13st also as I was nearly 5, 8" by the time I was 12/13, compared to the blonde petite girls in my year I was ugly and fat according to them.

After a school residential trip in France where comments such as "OMG, she's gonna sink the boat," and "Are you sure she needs as much food as the rest of us," I snapped and a day after getting home I tried to hang myself because I thought it would be best to die and not have to face up to them at school. My mum found before I could really try and took me to see doctors and people who thought they could help, although I then saw that killing myself was not the way out I still felt so isolated and lonely. The bullying didn't stop as all the head teacher would say is-"You’re lying, there are no bullies at this school,”

In 2010 I decided to move schools and I now love it there, I am starting my GCSE's have some really good friends and I have lost 20lb and loads of people are complementing me, I still get the odd remark about my size, or the way I look but I calmly say I don't care and walk away as I know they are only doing it for attention.

Since moving schools my grades have gone up as I am happier and I am hoping to go to University to study History and/ or Motivational speaking as I want everyone to know that they are special and beautiful.

Page last updated: 9 January, 2021