She tried her best to be courteous, but she couldn’t help but resent him. She was so hurt by how he treated her for years. Although it was great that he stopped his bullying, she kept on feeling uneasy around him.
In the fifth year of their program, which marked the end of their college educations, they got put in separate groups, and she barely saw her bully.
After graduation three years ago, she unfriended him on social media so she could put him in her past.
“As I said, I’m now in therapy and working on my PTSD diagnosis,” she added. “He and his friends are largely responsible for it; I’m not going to sugarcoat it.”
“Imagine near-daily bullying from grown men for 2.5 years of your early formative adult years. I don’t think I need to say how very damaging it can be for a young woman.”
Earlier this week, she attended a conference for her job, and her industry is pretty small. While there, she caught sight of her bully from across the room, and her heart sank.
Suddenly, he spotted her and walked over to say hi. He was clearly happy to see her, and they chit-chatted for a bit before he came to take a seat next to her for two different lectures.
All of that damage he did to her years ago came flooding back over her. She says it’s quite simple to practice forgiving and forgetting when you no longer have to spend any time with the person who hurt you, but it’s different when you’re faced with them.
Having her bully sit beside her and treat her like a friend was strange. What’s even weirder is that he actually considered her to be an old college buddy.
Several other people from their college days were at the conference, and they all agreed to meet up for drinks after the event was done.
Her bully continued to sit next to her for the remainder of the evening, and she was no longer so uncomfortable about it.
