"Facing The Giants!"

Giants to me are any obstacle that is way too big for me to handle. One of the biggest Giants in my life so far have been my bullies. You're probably wondering why and how but before I get deeper, I'd like to give a little background information on how it all began.

I've written a few times and stated that I am from Hispaniola, geographically you'd ask me which side since Hispaniola is separated between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Well there goes the story, I am Haitian! I started preschool in Haiti and everything until I was five years old. My mum left us and went back to Santo Domingo and later moved to the island of Dominica, I later joined my mother on the island and that's when it all started.

I had little to no knowledge of the country I was now a part of, I couldn't speak their language and I didn't know their way of life. After a few months, my mother enrolled me in primary school and it was a nightmare. Everyone watched me funny, laughed at me and kept calling me 'Haitian,' to be honest up to this day I have no idea how that name was suppose to make me feel. In Dominica they speak a dialect call patois which is similar to the Haitian Creole.

Due to me being a foreigner, I got teased a lot by the students and the reasons were quite stupid. They would steal my snack, hide my school bag, laugh at my hairstyles, say mean things when I got a good grades, make fun of my accent and accuse me of doing voodoo. Looking back, it all seem funny now but back then I was hurt and sad as to how clueless they were about things. Instead of being open minded and friendly they made it their duty to treat me as bad as they could. I managed to learn English and mastered their slang just to fit in but for some reason the bullying never stopped and continued throughout my primary school years and the first four years of High school. Eventually, I learned to deal with the situation in a very interesting way, whenever they called me 'Haitian' instead of my name I called them 'Dominican,' every time they made fun of how I talked I made fun of their 'slangs' and broken English and every time they told me that I did voodoo, I replied with 'maybe the spell was on you!' Later, I realized that I was only making the situation worse and I wasn't being the bigger person, as much as it made them stop, they also stayed away.

In HFLE class we were asked to write about ourselves and our family tree, I decided then that I'd explain to my classmates where I was born and why my family and I moved to Dominica. To my surprise they actually listened to the story. They asked questions and my answers clarified some things for them and things changed. I expressed my emotions and feelings on how I felt about being bullied, I got a few apologies but sadly, a few students did not bother to understand and continued to bully me. However, It did not trouble me much because I now had a few friends who would stand up for me. In conclusion, the lesson I learned was that doing back was never the answer because I was damaging my own image. As difficult as it was for me to express myself, I found out that speaking up was always the best way to handle situations like this. My best friend once told me 'sometimes people are mean to us not because they don't like us but because they themselves are going through something they can not handle and just need a way to let it out!' Bullying others is not the best solution for them but it is better to not judge. The best that we can do is be nice to them, even when they are being mean! It is our duty as humans to be proud of who we are and to love ourselves, knowing that we are better than the words that are uttered and that people's perception of us are not what keeps us alive. God made us with a purpose in mind and we need to find it and live it out, it is never easy but we have to remind ourselves that the setbacks are always there to guide us to a major comeback!

#BeBrave #BeBold

THIS STORY IS DEDICATED TO SYNITER! THANK YOU FOR CHOOSING THIS TOPIC AND PUSHING ME TO OPEN UP ABOUT IT! Love

SJ