MY STORY....

  My name is Olivia Pierce. I am 15 and in the 9th grade. When I was in kindergarten, I struggled with a learning disorder and acted out in class due to frustration. The other kids saw I was different and would bully me. No matter what I did after that, the kids never accepted me. With some help from my parents and teachers, things got better for me academically, but I was still bullied and didn't have many friends. Luckily, I was able to turn to my parents for help. You should always tell your parents or another adult if you are bullied.

I've been told I have thick skin, because I kept trying to make new friends even though it felt like I would never have any. In middle school, I finally have some good friends and they do not judge me based upon my behavior in Kindergarten. Because of my experience, I go out of my way to make kids feel accepted and I do not judge them because they are different. Now I have a lot of friends who support me in my stopping bullying effort and they accept me for who I am because I accept everyone for who they are. I don’t care what other people think of them because, to me, everyone is special on the inside no matter what they are on the outside.

A year ago, I launched the Raised Your Crown Against Bullying initiative to help show other kids that are bullied that they are not alone. I also spend a lot of my volunteer time being an advocate for bullying prevention and awareness. I want every kid out there to know that bullying can happen to anyone, even adults. It is wrong, and everybody should be treated kindly.

Some of my bullying prevention and awareness activities include The Faces of Change — The Youth Advisory Board of PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center, PACER’s Run Walk and Roll Against Bullying, and advocating through my own nonprofit. If you would like to contact me, please email my mom,  Jane Pierce at raiseyourcheerbow@gmail.com or message us on facebook. Thanks for taking the time to read my story and Raise Your Cheer Bow.