Meet Georgia Thomas

Being popular in middle and high school did not always come with all of the stereotypical perks. The media often portrays popular kids as socially superior, selfish, and mean to their peers. Society has a tendency to view the popular crowd to also be the bullies. I never chose to be classified as popular, however the social status chose me. In middle school, many of my classmates were drawn to me for reasons like my personality, but as I grew older, people began to be drawn to me for other reasons. Between eighth and tenth grade, being popular gradually became a heavy burden rather than a desired status. My name is Georgia Thomas, I am eighteen years old, and I was bullied as a popular kid. As my body matured, girls became jealous, and boys were attracted to me. Girls called me ugly names such as slut and whore, and they spread nasty rumors about me. After a while, the rumors and name calling began to affect me both emotionally and mentally. I started to believe what my peers said about me, and I allowed myself to become the girl they said I was. After attending ninth grade at a large public high school, my image was degraded and my reputation had taken a downward spiral. I made poor choices in efforts to appease the emotional pain, and I searched in the wrong places to fill the growing emptiness inside of me. As my tenth grade year approached, I struggled with extreme depression, my self image was ruined, and I desperately wanted to find a way out of my darkness. The only relief I could find was from self harm, which quickly evolved into serious thoughts of suicide, and several attempts to take my life. I began home schooling in tenth grade, because I could not handle the pressures of being immersed in rumors and mistreatment any longer. Recovery took several months, and I have many physical and emotional scars remaining. I was once the popular girl, but I was also the victim. While physical abuse is apparent and commonly heard of, verbal abuse often goes unseen and causes more destruction and damage.