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Tuesday, April 3, 2012

April A to Z Challenge Letter "D" = Dear Bully (+G!veaway) #AtoZChallenge @AprilA2Z


Welcome back to day four of the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge.
 Today's letter is "D" and my topic is = DEAR BULLY. 
For those of you who are not familiar with Dear Bully, lets check it out.

Dear Bully: 70 Authors Tell Their Stories

YOU ARE NOT ALONE. 

 Moving beyond being bullied.  They did it. So can you. Take a chance and ask for help.
We can stop bullying if we all work together.


I'm going to give you one of my favorite stories that is not in the book and then I promise to end this so it's not too long. Don't forget there will be a link at the end of the post if you are interested in entering the giveaway for your very own copy of Dear Bully and it is signed by the amazing Lauren Oliver.


You Changed Me.
by Carrie Gordon Watson

When you got on the school bus that first day, you changed me.
When you sat three rows back, you changed me.
The first time you talked about me like I couldn’t hear you, you changed me.
When you made fun of my face, you changed me.
When you mocked my imperfect body, you changed me.
When you hinted that my ethnicity was hate-worthy, you changed me.
When you disparaged my family, you changed me.
When you saw the hurt in my eyes and said it anyway, you changed me.
When it wasn’t enough to make you stop, you changed me.
When you got bored with me and moved on to someone else, you changed me.
When I was too scared, too beaten down, too ashamed to speak up, you changed me.

Twenty years later,
when you shocked everyone by coming to the reunion, you changed me.
When you crossed the room,
when you came straight toward me,
when you knelt down by my chair
as my heart slammed inside me
in a fight-or-flight response so strong
couldn't hear the music anymore,
you changed me.
When you asked my permission to speak to me,
when you said you wouldn’t blame me if I said NO,
when you admitted to being an asshole all those years ago,
when you said you were deeply sorry for the horrible things you’d said to me,
when you admitted you were wrong,
that you wished you could take it all back . . .
You changed me.

"Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life, but define yourself." --Harvey S. Firestone


***
The Giveaway:
One copy of Dear Bully signed by Lauren Oliver.

The Deets:
1. One entry per person.
2. You must be 13 or older.
3. Giveaway is International.
4. Giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. on May 3rd.

Enter Giveaway -->  HERE!

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful week!
Happy Reading & Arrivederci.

16 comments:

  1. OMG!!
    This post right here might be one of the bests ones of your blog so far...the story was just the prefect topping and voilĂ , you have me crying!
    I've been dying to get this book since forever! So thanks for the opportunity as well!

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  2. Beautiful. Just plain beautiful. I've struggled with these issues when I was at school and it was hard. only in the last couple of years bullism has been ackonledge here in my country, but it has always existed. And it's so hard to fight it

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  3. I love this post so much. We're going through this with my middle child right now. It's so heartbreaking, but he amazes me every day. I'll have to show him this video.

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  4. My daughter who is 11 had a bully in third grade and I had to get the school counselor involved because the threats were disturbingly violent. Thankfully, the school counselor handled it really well, got the girl's parents involved and the bullying stopped.
    I too was bullied for being too tall, having frizzy hair, freckles, etc. I don't want to say there's anything positive about bullying, but it did make me stronger and more empathetic towards others.
    I entered your contest and I hope I win:)
    Pamela

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  5. Thanks for the really awesome post and giveaway! You rock my socks way off!! =)

    ~Keegan Shayne

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  6. This book is on my wishlist to get. Awesome post and moving story.

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  7. Great post. I just finished reading this book a few days ago and recommend it for all ages.

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  8. Thanks for sharing this video.

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  9. Very inspiring post and video. I think I have seen it before. Bully awareness should increase and I applaud you for taking action :)

    Cheers!
    -Yadin

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  10. Thank you. Just thank you. Coming from A2Z. Have a wonder filled day. Now I have to wipe the tears and go to work.

    Leigh

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  11. Thank you all for sharing your stories and for leaving wonderful comments. I appreciate every one of them.

    I agree that Bully Awareness needs to be addressed more often and we as parents, adults, brothers, sisters and friends need to take action.
    Remember, we can stop bullying if we just work TOGETHER!

    -Amy

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  12. A great article about the effects of bullying on young minds. Lovely post, touched.

    http://sulekharawat.com/2012/04/07/familiar-is-for-cowards/

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  13. I've never heard of this book before, but I'm really glad I read about it in your post.

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  14. This post had reminded me of an instance that happened to another book blogger a few weeks ago. She has decided to quit her blog. I totally understand why she did it, but I'm really going to miss her blog! A little neighbor girl was being bullied and decided to take her own life because of it. Read on in the link: http://www.hippiesbeautyandbooksohmy.com/2012/08/bye-bye-blogging.html?spref=fb

    Amazing Post Amy!
    DeAnna Schultz

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