OPENING PANDORA'S BOX

SCHOOL REUNION                 At school I was bullied and was one of the most unpopular students at school – during both primary and high school. I didn’t feel I was attending school to gain an education, I felt like I was going to school to get emotionally abused. It wasn’t one person who was bullying me, it wasn’t a group of students who were bullying me; there were a lot of people who bullied me at school and it would have been impossible for me to be able to tell you who they were and their names (even at the time I wouldn’t have known all their names). It just seemed like I was the kid that people bullied and even students who I didn’t even know bullied me. Those kids had no justified reason to bully me – I had never done anything wrong to them or anyone else. They bullied me and they got away with it and there was nothing I could do about it. It just seemed like when one person did it and got away with i...

  ALCOHOL                 Australian drinking age is 18; however, I didn’t start drinking when I turned 18 because I was a goody goody and was afraid of alcohol. On my 18th I had three people over to celebrate with me, it wasn’t a party or anything like that it was a low-key event. Someone brought a bottle of wine and they were drinking it but I was wary of it so I didn’t. I didn’t get my ID straight away, I waited. I didn’t get ID until I was roughly around 20 years old, mainly because I wanted to go out and see bands live, which we did. Sharon would drink beer and so I drank a beer as well but I didn’t drink all of it because I didn’t like the taste. My brother and my dad drank Jack Daniels and that’s the alcohol drink that I liked so I just stuck with that one. So when we went to see a band or attended a party or nightclub I would stick with that one.         ...

  BLOW UP THE POKIES In America pokies are called slot machines, in Australia, they are called poker machines “pokies”. I’ve never been a fan of gambling and one of my least favourite things is pokies. I hate hanging around clubs that have a lot of pokies. I hate casinos and I never wanted to go to Las Vegas.                When I go out, I like to go out to socialize, chat, catch up, have a laugh, sit in comfortable seats, in comfortable warm temperatures, listen to music, drink, and preferably have a nice view. That’s what socialising is to me.                I don’t recall when I started disliking pokies; I don’t think my hatred of pokies stems from Sharon and Keith, who play them all the time. I think I started disliking them when I started going out to nightclubs when I was around 20 years old. When I go out the last thing I want to ...

  BEING AROUND ABUSERS AND BULLIES                 I’ve noticed that Keith is okay with abusers and it’s obvious. Most of the people he associates with are abusive or bullies. Perhaps the reason why he hates me so much and targets me is because I’m not like him or his friends.                 I don’t usually judge people by who they are in a relationship with, who they associate with or who they are related to. I’ve been associated with plenty of family and friends who have been dodgy and toxic so I can’t talk.                 But sometimes who someone hangs out with is a red flag. Keith and Sharon spent years putting me down. Many of the toxic people I’ve had in my life are no longer a fixture in my life and as I’ve matured I have grown enough common s...

  ABUSE IS THE FAULT OF THE ABUSER                 Sharon is my friend and Keith is her long-term boyfriend.                 Keith has a sister, she gets along with Keith but she has never warmed to Sharon. She doesn’t like Sharon at all and she also doesn’t like me (I don’t know why). I don’t know Keith’s sister at all and I rarely see her and even when we go out she isn’t usually around. There are times when she is nice to Sharon such as on Sharon’s birthday but even on Sharon’s birthday it’s obvious she hates Sharon. I don’t know Keith’s sister but Sharon told me she is a bitch.                   Keith’s sister had this boyfriend (now ex-boyfriend) and she was with him for years. I only met him once and had little to do with him. He attended ...