Have you ever stood up to a bully?

I got bullied at school. It was in year 6, when I changed schools and started at an international boarding school. (I know, I've got a bit of an unusual background.)  For some reason the girl with the power in our class decided she didn't want to let me have any of it and I became her target for pretty much the whole year.

I didn't stand up to her.

I wish I had.

The very first time she told me to stop doing something that annoyed her, I could have said, "I'm fine the way I am thanks." But I was scared of what might happen if I had my own voice and used it. I think the biggest fear was that no one would like me. Ironically, it turned out that when I just adapted to everyone and pretended that their opinions were mine, no one liked me anyway. 

Standing up to a bully effectively means being assertive. Stating what your boundary is without being aggressive. It still scares me today and I'm nearly 40 (I know, I know...) But I'm getting better at it.

How do you do?