My Cyberbully

     Chapter One

     1

     The media just loves stories concerning teen angst and drama. People in this day and age just eat that up, but what they don't clearly understand if the devastation that afflicts a fragile spirit from the horror of being an teenager in this technology obsessed culture. It is because of this advance in electronics that gives millions of people access to even more vulnerable victims. I never thought I would be one of them.

     This is my story. You can believe what I write or brush it off like it was nothing, but cases like mine are not a isolated case. Ruthless and vindictive haters use emails, text, instant messaging and social media sites to their advantage. You or someone you love can easily be the next target.

     Life is not a competition, at least not for me. I don't care who is the prettiest or most successful though my cousin may think otherwise since she thinks everything is a race to see who can do this or that the first. Actually come to think of it...it is more complicated than that.

    I spent most of my young life in a small town. When I still had faith in imaginary things like the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus life was much more appealing. Everything seemed like a fresh new experience or something, but there were always moments that ruffled up such an easy and smooth line of thinking.

     Like I mentioned before, everything with my cousin is a competition. I cannot begin to explain how even the most trivial of things would spur such rage and sickness within me because not only was it about competition but favoritism as well. All my aunts and uncles, even a bunch of my other cousins put said cousin on a pedestal and would worship her as though she were some damn goddess.

     Was I jealous? No, I was more hurt than anything because I thought to myself, Aren't I special, too?

     I figured that maybe it was all for the best though. Sooner or later happiness would have to stir its head my way. It was this hope I clutched onto even while still a child seeking approval from those who mattered most.

     Some wounds never heal. They may seem like it on the surface, but I don't think people realize the damage their actions can cause. It just feels like some people don't care. And perhaps they don't care because they just are ignorant.

     But it doesn't matter. Some people never change. I thought I had learned that, but the day I got my first computer I was still very naïve.

     It was a cold day in February and being from Minnesota I know cold winters. It was 2007 and there just happened to be winds whipping snow around and up my shirt. I sometimes wondered if I made the right choice, but at the time I didn't know the difference from an Acer and a Gateway. I thought all computers were built the same and maybe to some degree they are and the more expensive one is based on brand name alone, but I won't debate that now.

     Best Buy was the place to be or so I thought. Looking at all the electronic wonders before me I felt overwhelmed. It was like I was in a whole other world. So then when the salesman came up to me in his blue polo shirt I was still in awe and probably came across as feeble minded. Looking back on it now I think I did have a blank stare and a pale complexion, making me a pasty faced girl with doe eyes.

     I probably am not making sense, but trust me when I say I am trying to get to the point here. And my point is that I wasn't ready for the online world. I wasn't completely aware of the dangers and crap that goes on. So that made me the perfect target.

     2

     Staring at the gray and black oddity I slowly explored its edges and finally after a few minutes figured out how to open it. The screen was almost like a window into another realm. The keyboard and touch pad mouse were foreign beneath my fingertips as I gently tapped them.