Annie (AKA Hey Terra!) has been around long enough to have experienced a lot of what Life can dish out. But, it hasn’t been so long that she's forgotten what it's like to be your age. Check out some of the thousands of email questions teens from around the world have sent to Terra. You may learn something useful from her answers:
Bullying:
“They keep teasing me.”
Hey Terra,
I accidentally farted in class about a year ago and still no one can let it go. They still tease me about it. What should I do to make them stop?Enough Already
Dear Enough Already,
Teasing often starts out as good-natured fun from one friend to another. It isn't meant to do damage and it usually doesn't last long. When teasing turns ugly and doesn't quit, then it's called harassment. It's meant to hurt and no matter whether someone is being harassed because they're gay, or overweight, or they farted in class -- no one should have to put up with it. Have you talked to any adults about this? That's the only way to get this to stop. It's the legal responsibility of every school to make sure that every student has a safe (harassment-free) environment in which to learn.
This happens way too often in schools. Read what these kids said about teasing and what they did about it.
I can understand that you might not want to tell a teacher, school counselor, principal or your parents why kids are teasing you, but you have to because the kids who are making you miserable are not going to stop doing it on their own. You've taken the first step by writing to me. That took courage and I'm proud of you for doing it. Now it's up to you to take the next step.
In friendship,
Terra
Need some advice? Write to Terra.
She'll give you a straight answer you can trust without any lectures.
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