Bullying can have a profound impact on a person's life, leaving emotional scars that can last well into adulthood. And while we may hope to leave our bullies behind in our school years, life has a way of throwing unexpected encounters our way. One such encounter is running into the teacher who bullied you. This is exactly what happened to me, and here's what happened next.

The bullying

Ah, Mrs. M, my second grade teacher. She bullied me from top to toe.She did praise me for my grades however, but always made fun of my appearance and uncombed hair. Little did she know that I was the one doing my hair as a 7 year-old, because my mother didn't do that for me.

I remember very clearly the worst thing she did to me: she took out a chair, placed it in front of the classroom, made me stand on it, told me to look in the mirror, then told me to face my classmates and asked the entire class: "What is wrong with this girl?". The entire class chanted in chorus: "Her hair! Her hair! She looks like a scarecrow with her hair like that".


The pity

There was a teacher-parent conference one day and my mother didn't appear. I had to convince my grandfather to go instead. I know how busy he is, providing for the entire family. He brought me and my cousin to school, he did the groceries, he cleaned the house, mown the lawn and also worked to get money.

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