Kate:               I grew up in Tamworth and I went to school in smaller regional areas, on the outskirts, quite small populations. I've been bullied since I was in kindergarten, all the way to year 11.

Kate:               I had people calling me a witch and that kind of thing. Quite a large majority of my class weren't very nice to me. It was upsetting at the time and it does make you feel horrible and like you're not worth being this person.

Kate:               The hardest part for me was feeling different and feeling hopeless and worthless and as though I wasn't worth anything at the time, because I didn't fit into the narrative that was my typical high school experience. That I was different that... Because I wasn't what the classic teenager girl going out, partying every weekend.

Kate:               It made me feel as though I wasn't involved. I wasn't connected, I wasn't a part of this typical high school experience that even the media portrays. There were periods where I felt hopeless. There was periods where I felt suicidal, all that kind of thing. But the thing that really, really stuck to me was all those experiences that I would miss.

Kate:               So I did tell a couple of my teachers, a couple of my English teachers, history, they all knew what was going on. The teachers would pull them up and say, sit back down, shut up, that kind of thing. To the point, when I was in year nine, I had my year seven English teacher again and he said, that's it. I'm moving you up two classes so you're away from this. There's always going to be a couple of teachers in your school who are incredibly supportive and once you find them, talk to them about your issues. I had a counselor at school who knew all about it and he was excellent.

Kate:               My mom knew that I was bullied. I moved school three times, in primary school. She knew I was getting bullied in high school. My mom had a bullying experience when she was in high school as well, so she knows exactly what it's like.

Kate:               School is such an entirely small part of your life, very tiny in the realistic scheme of things and once you're out of it, you're out of it. Year twelve comes, you graduate. That's the end. You don't need to see these people ever again. As horrible as it sounds, but kind of gave me life experiences, which I really do treasure. I've learnt that there are horrible people in the world, but you've got to learn to be resilient and strong. It's hard when you're in it. It's really, really, really difficult when you're in it, but once you get through that tunnel of feeling hopeless and worthless, it does get better.