I had a huge bullying issue. The brunt of it was from some guy in my year called Jamie, who seemed to love picking on me. I had my first run in with him when I was in my first year of Secondary School, and my Guidance Teacher made me go to a weekly activity session with a few other students who had trouble socializing. This had been after my best friends from Primary School ditched me so I didn't really have anyone to talk with at intervals and lunch. That, along with my shyness, lead her to believe I had some sort of problem. I can safely say that aside from my shyness, I left school with lots of friends, and I didn't actually have trouble making friends. That was my first issue with my school - they meant well, but they dubbed me something I was not, and offered me help I feel I did not really need. In fact, it made me feel really broken.
While on a trip, I saw this guy, and I decided to try and make new friends - it was why I was there, after all. So I went up to this boy, and offered him my hand, and told him my name. At this point, he merely repeated my name in a sing-song, mocking voice, and pushed past me and walked away. So, I was kind of taken aback, but I decided not to let it bother me.
During the trips, I befriended another boy who had some sort of disability. I never actually asked, because I thought it might have been rude. But he was actually a really nice guy, who I'd sit and talk with. One day though, Jamie came up to us, and started calling him names like "Spaz" and "Retard", to which I got really mad, and told him to leave him alone. At that point, Jamie just said my name in a sing-song voice again, and left. Later on in the trip, while trying to climb over something, the teacher took my bag and handed it to him on the other side, and asked him to hold it as I climbed over. When I got over, I found it abandoned in a puddle of mud.
For so long, I convinced myself that perhaps there was a reason behind his actions. He had trouble making friends after all. Jamie hung about with the bad crew, a bunch of people who picked fights, would ditch classes, smoke, and drink. He didn't seem to have a lack of friends at all. In fact, I began to realise he was a manipulative shrew who constantly lied. One instance of this was when I had a mutual friend up at my house, Jamie messaged him, insisting that I was bullying him, and that he shouldn't hang out with me. I felt so angry.
On and on, the guy would pick on me, throwing things at me, and shoving me into things. Eventually, I left the group because of it. I told my parents that a guy there was picking on me, and I didn't feel the group was benefiting me. It was merely making me feel worse. So my parents told the school I was no longer willing to attend the Social Group. However, this did not stop Jamie, who continued to call me names, and continue to shove me. Eventually, this grew too much - after asking my parents for advice, I told my Guidance Teacher. Eventually, she called me back up, and I felt that I'd be able to have peace of mine. That was the second time I realised the school were useless. Jamie was not reprimanded for his behaviour. I was. Jamie was made to be the victim, and that I was the one who was bullying him. I left the office feeling so upset, only to meet Jamie and his cronies in the French corridor, where they started chanting "Michael is a grass!".
The bullying continued for two years. In that time, I'd made a lot of friends, but Jamie still hounded me. It was towards the end of the year that I experienced perhaps the worst week of my life. I had to give my dog away, and I had lost my Great Grandmother. I'd had braces recently put in, and was punched in the face at a Metallica gig the night before (Ouch). That day, I'd been forced to sit a test with the year above me, because I was the same age as them. Those guys made fun of me for being a third year, and other things, to the point where I refused to go back for the second half of the test. I merely went to my next class, and felt really angry. After the bell rang to end the period, I went down the stairwells, only for Jamie to start mocking me. So I turned around, shoved him against the wall, yelled at him, and proceeded to beat him up.
This is a thing that's bothered me for the last few years. I believe my actions were wrong, and I wish I hadn't done it. But, it was very evident to me that I couldn't rely on my school to solve the problem. I sought their help, and it only made things worse.
I'm not trying to say you should take matters into your own hands. I hope that if you do get bullied, you can turn to your school for help. All I'm saying is I acted, and while I regret my actions, it stopped the bullying.