The only thing that kept me from beating up any of the girls who tormented me in elementary school was because my mother taught there and I didn’t want to disappoint her by being one of those kids. Looking back, I wish now I had clocked a couple of those mean b*tches and taught them a valuable lesson about consequences. It wasn’t until middle school when I started standing up for myself that some of the abuse (at school at least) diminished. Yeah, it sounds petty to say that as someone old enough to have kids in college now. But between my horrible home life, the abject poverty, the neglect, and abuse, it would have been nice to have a break somewhere. Unfortunately, the kids at school just rounded out my not so great childhood with their taunts, rumoring, and the rare physical menacing I’d get from some girl who had been held back a year or two trying to intimidate the shy girl. I can only hope karma caught up with them.