I was punched on the school bus. Being violently bullied changed me and affected one of the biggest decisions of my life

Bullying started shortly after a move to a small village in Buckinghamshire, when a new school began just before a new sister was born. The school setting seemed idyllic, with countryside playing fields and occasional walks with a heavily pregnant mother. At school, behavior became increasingly cruel beyond normal rough play. Girls reached under the narrator’s skirt and tugged her knickers down, creating confusion about whether she was included in a joke or the target. Later, a boy punched her on the bus while demanding leftover sandwiches from her lunchbox, calling her derogatory names. The narrator closed her eyes as the attack happened, remembering shock more than pain, and realizing her life had become chaotic and disordered.

"Then I was punched on the bus. The boy who did it was demanding leftover sandwiches from my lunchbox. I didn't have any. Of course you don't, you fat bitch, he said. It took me too long to understand that his fist was flying towards my face. All I could do was close my eyes. I don't remember the pain, just the shock. Quite suddenly, my life had become chaotic and disordered."

Read at www.theguardian.com