Most of my blogs are about life, love and things that I have gone through in my short adult life, and this one is no different. I’d like to share with you an experience I’ve undergone this year. For the first time in a very long time, I found myself in an incredibly vulnerable position, in a situation that I truly hope none of you will ever have to be in.

At the age of 26 years old, for the first time since childhood, I was a victim of bullying, cyber bullying. My insecurities started to come forth and the walls that surrounded me started to build thicker and thicker until I found myself to be completely suffocated, without words. I felt as though it was best to stay quiet; like that silence was the best defense mechanism.

Wrong.

I was taught at a very young age to speak up if something was wrong, or if something made me ‘sad’ or someone was ‘mean’ to me. I was told to not keep it ‘inside’ and to tell someone I trusted, in confidence, what was going on.

Now that I’m not 6 years old anymore, and consider myself to be a strong, intelligent and courageous women, I decided to speak up; to not back down, but to stand strong.

Let me teach you a little lesson about people who want to bring you down in this world. It comes down to two things- Jealousy and Insecurities. Never ever let someone make you feel inferior to you without your permission. Never let people walk all over you. Never allow them to make comments about you that are unkind, malicious, childish and out of line. Nobody has to right, regardless of the situation, to make you feel unworthy and to put you in a vulnerable position because they want personal satisfaction and/or get a thrill out of it. That my dear friend, is not acceptable today, yesterday and nor will it be tomorrow.

In a world where we teach our children to stand up to bullies, it is so important that we as adults stand up and confront them as well, to make it loud and clear that this sort of behavior at any age will not be tolerated.

If you know of someone who is being bullied, please do not stand on the side lines to watch them fade. Stand beside them, not behind, lend an ear so you can listen to what’s happening and remember to not pass judgment. We have all been in situations in our lives where the people who intend on helping you, put blame on us for what is happening. When someone is being bullied and is hurt, they do not need to be patronized by “I told you so” or “Well, you brought this on yourself”. In most cases, they will know what they did wrong, and at this time in their lives they need someone; they need a friend.

Remember that if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for nothing.

Stay fabulous,

V.