I've written pretty extensively about the bullies in my life - A Depressing Story (To the Bullies Of My Childhood) -but if I were asked to pick the biggest bully I talked about in there? Probably the clique of girls from elementary school. They seemed to make it their life's goal to pick apart anything about me that deviated from the norm to use as a source of merriment to themselves. My attempts to defend myself by explaining only generated more laughter, teasing, and ostracization. And it's very difficult to explain to the teacher, particularly when you're a child, that these girls were making one so very miserable. They were not doing anything particularly obvious, no throwing things at me, no obvious pranks, no nicknames, no shoving or hitting, but instead were simply picking me apart every chance they got. It was, from an adult perspective, psychological warfare. Though I had other bullies later in life, these girls were the ones that knocked out any foundation of strong self-esteem, that cemented me in the minds of my classmates (whom would also attend my intermediate and high schools) as being odd, not worth talking to, someone who could be easily made to cry if you felt the need for a target and safely ignored otherwise as she would not fight back.

Bullying may be seen more prominently (or spoken about more extensively) in junior high and high schools, but believe me, it starts a hell of a lot earlier, and lays the foundation for everything that follows.