As noted in past posts, junior high school and much of high school were not good periods in my life and I suffered my share of taunts of "fag," "pansy"and other derogatory names since I wasn't the butch, macho type. Add to that the fact that I was regarded as being one of the smartest kids in my class, so I had the nerd image to further enhanced my misery. Summers at the family lake house were a totally different matter, but did little to get me through the school year. Then came snow skiing that made a big difference later in high school. I excelled and was better than many of the high school jocks - even some of the sports stars would go skiing with me. My point is that I know that one can be bullied and yet ultimately have the last laugh. A case in point is Jacques St. Pierre, a 17 year old student at the Etobicoke School of the Arts in Toronto, Canada. St. Pierre under went bullying but decided to fight back and organized a school assembly with an anti-bullying theme. He also sought out celebrities to back up the assembly's message. Lady Gaga was one of those asked and did a video for St. Pierre. Here are highlights from the Vancouver Sun followed by the video:
The Fame Monster herself is putting her popularity to good use — Lady Gaga recently acknowledged a Toronto student’s tremendous endeavour to raise awareness and put an end to bullying.
Jacques St. Pierre, 17, was motivated to make a change after being bullied himself growing up. As the student council president of the Etobicoke School of the Arts, he organized a school assembly with an anti-bullying theme.
“I got called the gay kid, the fag, because I liked to be in the school plays,” St. Pierre told CBC. “I lost my best friend because he joined in with the bullies. It’s not fun, I’ve been there, I’ve been bullied. Before that, I didn’t know bullying could affect people so severely.”
Gathering pledges from fellow students and contacting an array of celebrities for their support, St. Pierre was overjoyed and emotional after he received Gaga’s heartfelt video voicing her unconditional support for his actions.
“I just wanted to tell you how proud I am of you for being such a strong advocate of the LGBT community in your school. There should be more little monsters like you,” Gaga said. “It is important that we push the boundaries of love and acceptance. It is important that we spread tolerance and equality for all students.”
St Pierre said Gaga’s high profile will help spread a positive message. “Young or old, people know who Lady Gaga is, because she’s such as character and she does so much to stand up against bullying in any way she can. And someone as inspiring as her, taking 20 minutes out of her day to write down a speech, sit in front of a Teleprompter, get all made up and read it to us directly at our school. It’s fantastic,” he told CBC.
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Hello eveeryone,
My name is Aubrie Mindock and I am a professional skier and the author of "Back Up On Skis: My Journey Back to Ski Racing." Not only that, I am also against bullying and trying to reach out to kids and young adults to teach them that bullying is a huge problem and kids have the power to stop it. As a professional athlete I feel that it is important for me to talk to youth about bullying because I want kids to know that anyone can be teased and harassed in schools. No one is immune but no one has to go through it either. Below is my story about how I was bullied in school and how I overcame it and became a professional skier and author.
My school years: Being bullied
I was sitting in class and a girl was passing notes to me. "People are saying mean things about you," one note read. "They are saying that you are better off dead and no one wants you around." As the notes kept coming in they were saying things like, "You are a dork. No one likes you," and "Your parents should have thought about aborting you while they had the chance. I bet you were just a mistake." The girl, named Alex, kept passing these notes to me and eventually I lost it. I had a panic attack in the middle of class and my mother had to come and pick me up from school.
Things got worse for me when I returned to school. I remember the girls would spit on me as I walked down the halls. They would call me fat, ugly and make fun of my hair, looks, body, and even my dreams of becoming an Olympian and professional skier. Every day I would cry and just about every day my mother had to pick me up from school. Eventually the harassment got to the point where my parents took me out of school for a week to allow me to rest and clear my mind. That same girl, Alex, screamed nasty things in the hall during passing period and I couldn't take anymore. It got to the point where I no longer wanted to live and the word suicide crept into my mind. I never had a plan but I did think about not wanting to live anymore.
My life today
I am proud to say that today my life is great. I am still trying to figure things out with my life, like most college grads but for the most part things are awesome. I am a professional skier and all of my dreams came true. I never expected that I would be an author of "Back Up On Skis: and once again training for the Olympics. I am also reaching out to kids and talking about bullying because it is important that kids realize the impact they can have on someone. I was lucky and did not hurt myself or try to kill myself but many young kids are not so lucky. Too often you hear about kids taking their lives because their peers were mean to them. Bullying is a serious problem and I want kids to know that they have the power to really affect each other and their world.
Back Up On Skis: Against Bullying
If you want to read more about "Back Up On Skis," or read more about how to end bullying you can visit my other website at www.aubriemindock.blog.com
Take care and God bless,
Aubrie Mindock
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