Dealing with bullies

During the last few years in grade school I had to deal with kids that were older, bigger, and much meaner than me. I was a good natured child that just wanted to have friends. Some of the boys took advantage of my quiet demeanor and bullied me. There weren't any anti-bulling policies in place at that time. In fourth grade, one boy, Jimmy Burgess, who was two grades ahead of me, punched me in the stomach so hard I dropped to my knees. No adult saw it, and he was never punished. Later that year, three of his friends in my grade beat me up at the same time and left a gash on my head that almost needed stitches. I still have that scar. One day, during my fifth grade year, I had had enough. I got in a fight with Jake Pastorious. I don't remember what the fight was about, it didn't matter. For he was one of the kids that beat me up the year before. While I technically lost that fight, something stirred inside me that I had never felt before. Rage! I was so furious at these kids that I walked up to Steve punched him right in the face. He reeled backwards and attempted to punch me. His punch never connected. I was so mad at him, that I felt no shame in kicking him in the groin. Poor Steve! While justified at the time, the vivid memory of his reacting to pain will haunt me for the rest of my life. Steve wasn't the last person on my agenda. I had to stop their leader, Reicher, from harassing me. Looking back at this situation, I realize now that I could have used diplomacy. But I didn't develop the skill to negotiate until much later in life. For a 10 year old boy, my fists, it seemed, spoke louder that words. Reicher didn't have a chance. He was skinny and lanky. He was alone, away from his friends, with no one to back up him I felt no remorse for taking him down. The very next day, Reicher, apologized for treating me poorly. No one messed with me after those fights. In fact, Reicher and I became good friends later that year. While fighting among grade school children usually creates more problems than it solves, it worked for me.