I kept my mouth shut."
We recently shared aReddit threadabout where people’s formerchildhood bulliesended up later in life.
This promptedBuzzFeed Communityusers to tell us about what happened to their former school bullies once they became adults.
The stories were pretty interesting.
Here’s what people shared:
1.
“I was bullied throughout school, all the way from elementary through high school.
One particular bully called my parents one day out of the blue, apologizing for what he’d done.
However, in my opinion, it was too little too late.
The damage was already done.
No amount of apologizing will fix what was broken.”
Anonymous
2.
“One of my former bullies is a stand-up comedian/actor.
“She always made fun of me and turned my twobest friendsagainst me.
I saw her at a reunion a few years ago.
I pretended to have no idea who she was, then hit her with, ‘Oh!!
You’re the one who got pregnant in 10th grade!’
Then, I walked away before she could respond.
We graduated almost 30 years ago.”
ponygirl79
4.
“I sold her my childhood home.
Because we grew up.
A family needed a home, and I had one I didn’t use.”
I looked at her profile, and it turns out she has a wife.
I never did get an apology.”
pullhandlesupnotout
6.
“I was bullied a lot.
I was very tall, skinny, and awkward.
Not a cool look in the early ’80s.
I’m 5'9.
It was a win for my tall, skinny, awkward 13-year-old self.”
laurenebannister
7.
Also, I was really tall and, therefore, an easy target.
One of my bullies actually became a social worker.
I don’t know if she’s changed, and I don’t care.
Now she’s a social worker?"
He said his daughter was supposed to have come in to help him but couldn’t.
I hadn’t spoken to her in 20 years but never recovered."
garebehr
8.
“My bully won the lottery and retired early.
I’m not kidding.
I hope his life was a mess after that, like most lottery winners.
Sorry, not sorry.”
ericr1
9.
It was an unnecessary apology.
dalyaz
10.
“My bully is a nurse in the NICU at our local children’s hospital.
I had a baby in February who had to spend a week in the NICU.
I was TERRIFIED that I would see her and she would be the nurse to my baby.
I seriously wouldn’t have put it past her to neglect my baby over her hatred for me.
Little do they know ALL the things she did to me over many years.”
“Luckily, I did not have to see her face once.
leahm491b1c910
11.
There was never any physical violence, however.
He was jealous of kids like me who lived in loving and stable homes.
He resorted to burglary to help fund his drug habit and was sentenced to prison multiple times.
“Bottom line: His parents' divorce basically ruined his life.
I had no experience with divorce and didn’t understand what he was going through.
sidneykaler
12.
She harassed me (and many others) over text and via social media as well.
He had even been roommates with her -ex-boyfriend.”
His response was, ‘That actually explains so much.’
From what he told me, she hadn’t changed much.
cristinas437192d57
13.
“She was a friend who turned into a bully.
She does children’s book illustrations now and recently got married.
I hope she’s doing well, but I won’t contact her.
torbielillies
14.
“One of my worst ones is now a judge in Texas.
I shudder to think about it.”
wonkobox
15.
I never told my parents about it.
By the time we got to high school, he’d dropped off of the social map.
I just found out that the bully died last year.
He spent his entire adult life as a stoner, jumping from odd job to odd job.
He had lots of chronic health problems related to his lifestyle choices.
He lived in an old traveler trailer on his cousin’s farm.”
“I was a huge nerd and was bullied by a few girls in elementary school.
skybluedays
17.
“For four years, every day in high school, this guy relentlessly verbally bullied me.
I pretended not to hear him.
Fast forward 50 years when I walked into our 50th high school reunion.
I couldn’t get away from him.
Everywhere I went, there he was right at my side.
I was able to say, ‘I forgive you.’
This was the best part of the reunion!”
“I was bullied by a lot of kids in elementary school because I was small and quiet.
One girl and her mother bullied me.
Her mom was the Girl Scout leader.
They were social-climbing snobs and even made fun of my mom’s accent.
They excluded me from activities.
She approached me at our 40th class reunion and acted like I was her long-lost best friend.
She was getting over cancer, which I wouldn’t wish on anyone.
We talked for a while, but I was pretty puzzled.
Maybe her brush with death made her think about her choices.
At earlier reunions, I just got the stink eye from her.
Her besties, who were also bullies, also acted all sweet with me.
I guess success is the best revenge because they were all surprised at how well I turned out.
They’re all doing fine, which is great.
Sounds like they grew up.
They were just following the lead of their snobby, social-climbing moms.”
I have no idea why.
He’s now in prison for murdering someone.
Another one was this awful girl from high school who, I swear, inspiredMean Girls.
You’d think that would humble someone, but no.
Her Facebook is still super rude, so I guess she hasn’t changed.”
j4287b3497
20.
“I’m on good speaking terms now with one of mine now.
She was also the only one at my 10-year reunion that gave condolences for my dad’s passing.
I kept my mouth shut.”
m4eed64e13
21. triiipi
22.
“She was so cruel to me for years in high school.
From the first day we met, she called me names and told horrible stories about me.
She was absolutely awful!
Especially about my weight because she was thin and popular, and I was the chunky nerd.
Fast forward 25 years.
“He’s a real estate agent in our area.
I looked at his reviews, and they’re all written by his friends from high school.”
jessethecowgirl
24.
“I had one ‘friend’ bully me for my sexuality.
She is now a mental health nurse.”
woofshoe
25.
“My bully and I ran into each other at an AA meeting that set all animosity aside.
We are very close now.”
kmpbnjelly
26.
“We wound up becoming friends online.
She had dropped out of school and gotten her GED.
She’s raising a child with her partner and has felt genuine remorse for middle school.”
27.And: “Nothing special happened to mine.
When they made my life hell, people said, ‘Karma will get them back one day.
They’ll end up sad and alone,’ but it doesn’t always work like that.
Sometimes, they end up happy and fulfilled.
But I don’t begrudge them that.
I hope they grew up emotionally and realized that being cruel wasn’t conducive to happiness.”
emmak26
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
