Stories
This is Erika. The effects of her body image on the way her peers at her school treated her, got way out of hand. Even though she couldn’t really do much about it herself. Being bullied is never fun, but as Erika shows, it will always get better. This is her story.
I’ve been always been big as a child, I think it started there. I was born pre-mature, my mom was 24 weeks pregnant when she took a bad fall, causing my birth. Being born so early, I had to spend a lot of time in the NICU, they fed me through a tube and since I had a lot of trouble breathing they also gave me medicines to help me breath better and to develop my lungs. Before my parents knew it though their happy, little, puffy preemie could go home. My parents always told me I was a happy kid, that never cried too much. Or I wasn’t, like my dad likes to say about my 3 older brothers, a pain in the ass. When I was around 3 or 4 years old, I enrolled into pre-school, and that’s where they first started noticing it. For a short period of time I would be non-responsive, I would stare at a wall and just blink, nothing else. My teachers told my parents that I wasn’t paying attention enough, and that I should get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