Bullying has changed. It still happens like it did when I was young, but there are more avenues for bullies to use these days. However, because of this radical change, there's more attention to bullying and it's not as accepted as a "kids will be kids" thing. Frankly, I feel bitter about that. I was bullied and people didn't usually stand up for me or do anything to the bullies. It may not have been as pervasive because they didn't have the Internet back then, but it still cut deep. Also, back then, if someone at school hit you, they didn't call the police or bring legal action. You just had to suffer and nobody would be punished, at least not legally (as I do think they should be--assault is assault).

I remember feeling proud for standing up for myself by telling the teacher on a kid who messed with me. I told my dad, and he told me not to be a "tattletale." That hurt a lot.