I must shamefully admit that I was a bully a long time ago. I was the new kid in my elementary school and of course I didn't have any friends. I started talking to this one chubby girl because she was lonely like me, except she was really rude to me. I had asked her if she wanted to be friends and she got mad at me and told me to go away and I had to look for friends elsewhere. So later on in the year I heard rumors about her and everyone would say really mean things to her. At the time I thought it was okay since she had been rude to me, so I joined in on the humiliation and it was just funny to everyone. A few years later in middle school I thought it through and realized she had probably pushed me away because she thought I would hurt her. It was then clear to me that obviously she had experienced bullying way before I came in and I felt really bad. Recognizing my mistakes made me a better person because I started keeping my actions on check.
The long-term effects of bullying can vary between self-harm, violence, drug abuse, and even suicide. Its something that can really ruin a person's life. Some people choose to blame themselves for being the way that they and they lose their self-worth and confidence. They express this by not taking care of themselves, putting themselves down, and hurting themselves. Others will gradually give in to drug abuse, which will later develop into a dependency and an addiction. This could lead to major health problems and the effects of the drugs can include being aggressive and even becoming a bully themselves. Then there are people who lose all hope and purpose for life, they become depressed and everyday becomes a living pain so they decide to let go and commit suicide. On the other hand, the people who bully might find bullying as a temporary way to boost their self-esteem. However the bully will eventually corrupt itself with all the bitterness they've filled up with.
