I’m twelve and I’ve had really bad experiences with bullying.
When I was six or seven, and we were just so happy. Talking, laughing, us all sitting all together.
And then, my mum and dad got divorced, the house was sold, and we moved.
The first day was just like an induction day just to see if I wanted to go. It was all fine, everyone was nice, they would invite me to play football, and then I just thought like, I’m really getting accepted they’re actually like wanting to be friends with me.
And then it all just went, just really bad.
Every time I’d go to school someone would call me names, it didn’t really go to my mind at first but then after a while they were saying something about my family and it would just, get me down.
They wouldn’t invite me to the games, they would try fight me, swearing at me.
I was just playing football with my friend, he was the only person that played would play with me.
And erm, they just came over, they would say, 'Don’t play with him.'
They had a baseball bat and smashed me in the chest. I fell on the floor crying.
I just felt like my hair wasn’t right, my shoes wasn’t right. I’d like try show off like, get a new haircut, erm I would try getting new shoes but nothing.
At break time I would sit on my own in corner, thinking I don’t want to be here.
Just put my hands on my head like that. Probably cry.
I would come home and I wouldn’t talk to my mum. I wouldn’t tell anyone. I would just cry on my bed. And my mum would come in and say what’s happened, I’d say I’ve hurt myself or something. Make an excuse.
I was too embarrassed. I just felt like no one would believe me. I was just like, because it was so bad I thought everyone would just say I’m lying.
Sometimes I’d come home and I felt like I wasn’t safe, I’d of just kept checking out the window, I just was scared to leave the door open.
And I would have nightmares in the night. I’d wake up, go to my mum's room crying saying I’ve had nightmares.
It went on for about two, three years. I felt like this is gonna be my life. This is what I’m gonna go through for the rest of my life.
It’s hard to explain… you wouldn’t think anyone could go through something like this.
Unbearable, the pain.
I do the army cadets now. There’s no incidents there with bullying. But if anything does get out of hand they’ll say sorry and be all alright.
Since I’ve been there, I can do things better than other people!
I’ve had the drill tests and I’ve passed that first try,
The military knowledge test passed that first try,
Badges of rank test first try,
Air rifle test passed first try,
First aid test passed first try.
And I’ve got the highest marks out of everyone.
It makes me feel, I’m doing… I'm doing… good for once.
Everything's better but I’m still the old person. Because the bullying happened for so long, It’s like, it’s just added a new part to me.
I wanna build awareness of the bullying so I can just like make these people think look what you’re doing to people.
You was doing pushing them, flooring them, calling them names, even just giving them a dirty look might really hurt them.
Yeah I just feel like it’s always gonna be with me. But then I feel like I’ve got… I’m friends with so many people now, they’ll all back me up no matter what.
Video summary
Jake’s intimate description of how it felt to be bullied - the sense of isolation and fear that he went through - will help students to empathise with his story.
He describes how being bullied pervaded every aspect of his life, making him afraid even when he was at home, and also how being in a new environment and making new friends through the army cadets helped to develop his sense of self-confidence.
This film will be particularly useful for teachers in opening up discussion around bullying, self-confidence and the effects of an individual’s actions on others.
This clip is from the series When I Worry About Things.
Teacher Notes
You could use this clip to start a discussion about how to deal with bullying, what to do if you think someone might be being bullied and where to seek extra help, if needed.
This clip is relevant for teaching PSHE at KS2 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and Modern Studies 2nd Level in Scotland.
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