Here’s a piece I was commissioned to write for Metro.co.uk.
In it I examine my experiences of being severely bullied at school and how they’ve shaped my focus as a parent.
I still remember the whistling in my ears.
A sudden sense of the world being unsteady and the ground coming up to meet me. Landing hard, I was knocked out. Moments later, my eyes opened as several feet walked away. ‘You showed him,’ said an excited voice. The thing was, he hadn’t shown me anything. I still don’t know what I was punched for.
It was my first day at secondary school, and a sixth former (aged 18) had decided to attack this clumsy, naive 11-year-old, excitedly chatting about comics to some mates. My only crime seemed to be being bigger than my aggressor. But, though the size of a man, I was very much a child. This incident was the first of many. Persistent bullying became the background narrative to my school years.”
Chris McGuire, Metro.co.uk
For more of my writing work, see my site chrismcguirewriter.wordpress.com.
Chris McGuire: Writer 