During a test in primary school, I once put my arm around my work, as the girl next to me was copying. I could see the teacher watching, so I knew she'd get into trouble, probably me as well.

For that I suffered 2 years of hell.

She managed to convince every child in my form to ignore me completely, pass me by, not look at me, not speak a word to me.   In private, on their own, some kids would sidle up to me and tell me they *did* actually like me, but were afraid of Jane.

I learnt a lot in those 2 years. I learnt to stand outside 'the group' for a start, and watch how one person controlled so many others. I learnt about hypocrisy, about people who really didn't matter one iota to me, at the end of the day, for they had no empathy about my feelings.

I learnt that being alone was actually pretty darn good, because there was no one to hurt you, judge you, get others against you, even if it was so often very lonely.

I learnt that I loved animals far more than I loved human beings, because animals never went out of their way to hurt you, indeed, they could somehow sense when you needed a friend, giving you such love when it was needed so badly.

I became very indifferent to all those folks, when they finally decided, after Jane had left to go to another school, that they'd try to be friends with me again. I learnt about folks who take your trust, your friendship, your loyalty, then screw it up and stamp on it.

I learnt what a terrible thing bullying is, how it lasts, stays with people for a very long time...and how callously indifferent so many people are to the deep damage it so often causes.

All the knowledge I gained back then has remained with me throughout my life.

When I see bullying, I wade in there to stop it, to show the bullies up, to stand fast and hard against them, because I have been the person on the end of vicious remarks, or total silence..and I know how it feels.

And....I think that many people who've been severely bullied as children actually turn into Great Grown-Ups because they're so often very kind and empathetic.

I often wonder if the people who chose to stand with Jane ever think about what they did, how they behaved, if they caused any damage, hurt or something far worse.

I'm very proud that I never bullied a soul when I was at school..and I got more love from the school rabbit than I did from many of my peers.

Things got better for me when two girls arrived in the 4th Year. They were twins. Not just twins, but the most beautiful twins you could imagine with faces and bodies to die for. Needless to say, the girls hated them, the boys loved them..and they found life very hard to start with. We all shared a birthday, and I ended up befriending them pretty fast, because I could see how upset they were with the frosty frozen reception they'd got from other girls. We remained really good friends throughout the rest of school and for a while beyond too...but then each of us went our separate ways.