SPLAT: The Official Newsletter of the Ateneo Special Education Society Sept. 2013 | Page 12

EXCLUSIVE
Among the horrific tales of bullying that I’ve had include: having my things stolen, being insulted and called names. Despite my elders telling me to ignore them, my principles were different. I fought back, not with fists, but with words. To get back at them, I wrote notebook novels depicting myself and my few friends as heroes, and my bullies as evil villains. That, of course, was my wide imagination running, perhaps to console myself and give me some solace. Despite my achievements as a student, excelling in the classroom, and even representing my school in various quiz-bee competitions (as a matter of fact, I was a grand finalist in the defunct LG Quiz), I was still bullied. that my bullies be suspended from school but still, my self-esteem had suffered significantly, and it would take a long while for me to regain it. College wasn’t really as sweet as it is supposed to be either. Although toned down significantly, I still faced ostracism and rejection among some of my classmates and colleagues. And the workplace experience, particularly at the BPO industry, can be bittersweet as well.

Sometimes, I am faced with a lot of frustrations, many of which induce my meltdowns. That, coupled with the fact that I didn’t really like what I was doing, had caused my performance at work to deteriorate, and eventually, it led to me quitting my job after two years at the One day, I have had workforce, to fulfill my dreams enough. I have decided to fight and realize my full potential. back with my fists. I reported them to my mom, who asked

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