Middle school, where the mindset of a kid is getting shaped, became a place where I overcame crucial challenges and made steps to personal growth. During this period when the priorities of kids change from learning to socializing, I found myself isolated, becoming a target of bullying simply because of my dedication to learning. This period had an enormous emotional impact on me as I wanted to succeed in life and had set goals for my future unlike the other kids, who were enjoying their life. As my classmates started adopting carefree approach to life, my focus set on success and clear goals set me apart from everyone. Our definitions of enjoying life varied, marking me different from others. Perhaps this difference was the cause of the glares and harassments I endured during middle school. Adults often said that I appeared mature for my age, further accentuating my discrepancies. This essay is about my experiences with bullying and the lessons I learned along the way.

It all started in eighth grade of secondary school. At this age, most children's puberty begins, and they become rebellious. Kids begin to rebel against their parents and teachers, and failing to complete schoolwork appeared mature and cool. At the time, I had no idea what was going on; all of the competition had faded and my classmates had began to care less and less about grades and knowledge acquisition. Because of this, education and accomplishment were scorned and those who worked hard were humiliated. Yes, my classmates were constantly making odd jokes about me at this time period because I was one of the smartest students in the class. When teachers praised me, they would mumble between themselves, claiming that I deserved none of it. During test periods, my classmates would pester me, demanding help and test answers. If I ignored them during the test, they would call me an awful lot of derogatory terms. To be honest, I wasn't particularly smart; I was simply doing more than the bare minimum. Worst of all, some of the students had natural skill and could get away with hardly studying, making them feel superior to me. This put me in abnormal amount of stress as a kid.

I'd get horrible headaches around this period that would keep me from doing anything. Those headaches were so painful that I cried until I fell asleep of exhaustion. Numerous doctor appointments identified the source of my pain: my vision was deteriorating due to stress. I was given an ugly pair of glasses and plenty of pills. I despised wearing those glasses. Everyone in class laughed at me, and the taunting became more severe. It was difficult to keep up with my classmates at school while still studying at home. I felt overwhelmed as a child. As a result, I lost motivation. Every motivation to keep studying was fading, while playing games with classmates during class to "fit in" appeared exciting.

Because of these events, I began ignoring my homework in order to have fun with my friends, and I never wore those prescription glasses. Little did I know, those friends were only talking with me because I was helping them with their tests. One distinct memory I have from this period is of a French class test we took at the end of the semester. The guy next to me would bug me, pull my pen from my hand, and threaten that if I didn't help him, he wouldn't let me write my own test, so we'd both fail. I was terrified. He was using vulgar language against me, and I couldn't write my own test. I gave in and helped him write the test. He received the highest score on the test, while I was on the point of failing. That guy got ahead of himself by saying I'm nothing, despite the fact that I'm doing so much. My French teacher would look at me with dismay, as if I were the sole culprit. I'd be labeled a snitch if I told the teacher the truth. I loathed the teacher's expression. She would voice her dissatisfaction with my academic performance not only in class but also to my parents. French used to be my favorite class before, I made plans of visiting France with my family and I was set on talking with locals fluently but I started hating it, every French lesson seemed a torture. I was at a loss for what to do.

Because of the large amount of stress placed on me in class, as well as the pressure to not disappoint my parents, I had a major disagreement with my best friend, who preferred to stay out with her other friends while I was being suffering. This was the lowest point in my middle school. I didn't know who to talk to, and I didn't want to bother my parents, but things were growing worse by the day. So I relented and told my mother everything. I'm grateful to my mother. During this difficult period, she consoled me and taught me how to address the problem on my own. So I took action.

First of all I decided to start from myself. I realized how external pressure made me forget my goals. Opening up to my French teacher was the next significant step. Despite my initial fear of her reaction, her understanding became a source of encouragement for me. She made sure the guy didn't sit next to me during tests. My teacher also took action by reporting that guy's behavior to his mother. Unexpectedly, he approached to me to apologize for his behavior and asked me to teach him some words in French he was having hard time with. My nest step was planning strategies on confronting my classmates. My confidence was growing and the desire to not lose the sight of my future because of others was becoming more vivid. Instead of silently listening, I expressed my discontent when my classmates were calling me "nerd", "glasses" saying that it's time to move beyond stereotypes. Eventually as they saw how their words started impacting me less and less they stopped. Throughout this process, the support of my mother played a huge role. Our conversation equipped me with the right tools to address challenges independently. I am thankful that she guided me to solve my problems by myself instead of barging to school and creating a huge deal.

I attend a university now. I major in math and physics, two disciplines about which I have always been enthusiastic. Even though I might match the stereotype of a "nerd," I'm glad that someone is recognizing my efforts instead of being upset as I used to be when I hear that term. As a middle schooler, it was challenging for me to figure out what my priorities were and how to keep up with socialization and academics. Nevertheless, those experiences helped me grow mentally, and I'm proud of myself for being able to get past obstacles that had previously appeared inescapable. As a volunteer, I am now more than ready to consult with other students about their issues and strategies to overcome them. Surprisingly, in my nation, some actions by students are often accepted as communication rather than acknowledged bullying. Bullying occurs for a variety of reasons, ranging from looks, clothing, and speech - students become targets who suffer, and perpetrators may be upperclassmen, students in the same class, or even teachers. Drawing on my middle school experiences, I spent time creating a solution that would not only handle the repercussions of undesirable behavior, but would also teach students. My proposal is to use gamified online workshops as a bullying prevention technique.

Interactive seminars that keep students entertained have positive effects because they teach them to realize how their actions affect others. The purpose of this project is to foster empathy, promote healthy and positive communication between students, and raising awareness about the impact of words and action. The goal of gamified online seminars is to teach kids about the repercussions of their actions and words. Challenges and scenarios that are interactive can improve learning. Target audience of such workshops would be middle schoolers, preferably children of grades 4-7 since this is the time when a child starts forming his/her worldview. The interactive scenarios should mimic real-life situations so that the students can make decisions and witness consequences based on their actions. To motivate the child to play the game and learn about their surroundings the workshop should include rewards, levels, or challenges. The roadmap for further development of this idea incudes collaborative learning: students learn to communicate to make collective decisions, share their opinions.

Finally, I want to stress how bullying can turn into a double-edged knife. I gained valuable life lessons from this experience, including how to become independent, maintain my passions, and disregard the opinions of others. Bullying, however, can have unimaginable effects. Thus, it is everyone's duty to become conscious of their words and deeds toward other people and to understand the appropriate way to apologize for mistakes. I hope that my ideas will one day come into existence and assist other disadvantaged kids in overcoming unfair treatment.