I lived in this tiny village in the forest. I was bullied by 12 kids who lived near me (literally 2 streets away). They bullied me because i was American, and because i made friends with a kid that they bullied at the time too. This went on from when i was 8 till 14 (19 now). They never hit us or anything but they always gave us tons of shit. We all went to the same school. So i was on the bus with them in the morning, at school with them, on the bus after school, and in the evenings if i ever went out. They always hung out at this bridge near my house that i had to cross to get anywhere. Most of the kids were 4 years older than me, but the worst part was that their little brothers would try to bully me too and they were like 2 years younger than me. So life was kinda shitty for a bit. But you learn to deal with it and get used to it, so after like 2 years it didnt really affect me anymore. They kinda just got bored and stopped once i was between 13 and 14.
But, i believe it made me a better person. When i look at them, they are all still hanging out with the same people, living in the same town, dating the same people, and still living with their parents. (bare in mind that some of them are 23 now.... not that its a bad thing to live at home! I jsut like the fact that they havent moved out of the vilalge)
Whereas i moved to London, share a flat with a couple guys who are cool, have awesome friends, have a sweet fashion job, and I'm totally in control of my life. And, the person i made friends with, we have been best friends for 11 years now.
Makes me feel awesome when i go home to my parents and i see all those kids sitting around with the same people, doing nothing with their lives, looking enviously at me as i stroll past.