Whether you believe people can change or not, the following stories are about what happened to people’s childhood bullies. Did they grow up and learn from their mistakes, or continue down a self-destructive path. Often times those who bully are going through hell themselves as proven by some of these stories (although that is absolutely NO EXCUSE for their behavior), we must always keep in mind that everyone we meet is fighting their own (sometimes invisible) battles.
Source list available at the end.
“My dentist told me a story about his bully. Just after he opened up his practice, he made an emergency appointment because of a cracked tooth. The dentist recognized him, but the bully didnt.
The bully sat down in the chair and the dentist said, ‘Open wide’ and started examining him.
Then he said, ‘You dont recognize me, do you?’
The bully said, ‘No’ (The best that he could with the dentists tools still in his mouth).
‘You used to bully me at school, you made my life terrible.’
Perfect timing. The bully apologized, and the dentist repaired his tooth. But imagine just how he must have felt for those few seconds being absolutely powerless.”
zetecvan
“I had two. One of them ended up in jail for dealing and domestic violence charges (Good riddance). The other one went to college and became a chemical engineer. He messaged me on Facebook a while back and apologized for what he did while we were still in high school, and I accepted what he had to say. He has a wife and kid now. He seems to be doing well for himself. I’m happy for him.”
Neptune2284
“He never really bullied me, but he did bully others. He always lived like no rules applied to him. I saw on the local news a couple years ago that he got pulled over for something and ended up in a high-speed chase.
The cops did a pit maneuver and made him spin out. This guy pulled out a weapon and took aim at the cops, who in turn, fired back, killing him.”
Fanabala3
“I was overweight until I was almost 21. Every single person (both male and female) that bullied me for my weight also ended up gaining weight later on in life. Im now a size 5, and it feels good to see them in public.”
Devilea
“My bully is now dating my older brother’s bully. I wonder if they bully each other.”
eeeboo
“Both are dead. One of them took his own life after he got into so much trouble, and he thought that his daddy couldn’t bail him out. The other was doing 90 down a country road while completely ripped; the road took a hard left and he didn’t. He was thrown through the windshield and died on impact.”
Vexxlyn
“He was involved in a motorcycle accident and suffered serious brain damage. It actually made him a much nicer person.”
BD1304
Hes part owner at the auto parts store where I buy from. Hes also the second baseman on the beer league softball team that I coach. One of my players said they had a guy to fill-in for a tournament, and with us needing the bodies, I agreed.
My heart sank when he came strutting up. My player introduced me to him and he said, Yeah, we go way back. I ruined his life in high school. I dont think I’ll be welcomed to play, but thanks for the opportunity.
He turned and started walking away, but I called him back over. I told him that if he was half as good as he was when we were teenagers, then he was welcome to play.
He immediately agreed, and after the first game (which we won by the mercy rule), he and I had a long chat in the beer gardens. Were good friends now, and he has a permanent spot on my team. And yes, he is still just as good as he was in high school.”
Strofari
“I found him working behind the front counter at Little Caesars (pizza joint) about 10 years after graduation. He didn’t recognize me, but he did call me sir.”
ratbastid
“I never had a high school bully, but my elementary school bully and I are still neighbors. Apparently, she had stolen money from her boyfriend, and he had come banging and kicking on her door to get it back. I think her son is around 3 or 4-years-old, and we’re 19. She got a lower back tattoo when she was 12. My father knew she had bullied me, but her parents did not. Her mother would always tell me how nice I was, and how she always wished that her daughter and I could’ve been friends so that I could’ve led by example for her.”
Foxy_ferret
“We became best friends, and I’m actually going to be a part of their wedding next year.”
inspirrational
“I didn’t have a high school bully, but I did have bullies in elementary school and middle school. The elementary school ones eventually realized that it was stupid, and we ended up becoming (okay) acquaintances. They probably went on to live normal lives. As for the middle school one, I don’t really know what happened. Last I saw him, he was still just as bitter as ever.”
Rhythandius
“We became best friends. I switched schools to avoid him, and my heart sunk when I found out that he was switching to my school. My one normal year of high school felt like my last.
The biggest guy at the school, (who was also a childhood friend of mine) said that he would handle him and he tried to, but it only made things worse. It just created a bad dynamic in the hallways.
One day, during lunch I just walked up to him and said, ‘Let’s squash this tension.’ He said that he didn’t have any grudges against me and that he respected me way more for walking up to him like that. Everyone watching (including him) had originally thought I was walking up to him to settle a fight. Words can make a huge difference.”
Slimsloth
“Not a bully per se, but my girlfriend’s mom hated me. She made my life miserable and caused her daughter to breakup with me. I was driving back to university and buying some gas. Her mom was working at the gas station. She saw me and looked like she had just seen a ghost. I smiled, put the cash in the counter, and walked out without saying a word to her. Her daughter became a single mother just like she was, while I went on to become an engineer.”
jon110334
“He apologized to me one day. It was a few months before I had moved away. He told me that he did feel bad about how he had treated me and that it must’ve really hurt my feelings to have been called all those names. I told him that I forgave him and that we were all just stupid kids back then.
A week later, he took his own life in his parent’s front yard. I skipped the funeral. I’m not sure why- whether I was scared or was just trying to play it cool. There is literally nothing I regret more than having missed it.”
UwasaWaya
“Her and her brother had a very unfortunate home life. Their mother was mentally ill and their dad was a gypsy who only dropped by to see them a couple of times a year.
I was friends with both of them for a few years while in secondary school, though, we grew apart later on. While others were totally scared of her (because of our early friendship), she never picked on me and would sometimes listen to me as a voice of reason.
She left school at 16 and got into a lot of trouble with the law. I heard that she ended up doing some time in jail. When she came out, she turned her life around. She went back to school to get the qualifications that she needed, and then she went to nursing college. Last I heard, she was a mental health nurse.
Kiya-Elle
“He ended up matching with me on Tinder and didnt recognize who I was (I had dyed my hair, gotten piercings, and lost a lot of weight). He wanted to hook up, and I asked him if he could recognize me. He felt stupid, and it was a petty win for me.”
cooljesus69
“I saw him for the first time last month. It had been like 10 years. It was in a club, and he remembered my fave since we always used to fight back then. He bought me a drink, and we had a conversation about the old days. He’s a gentleman now.”
nahomish
“She ended up getting pregnant at around 17, and her boyfriend (who was also the father of the child) ended up dumping her. Honestly, I felt really bad for her.”
heterosceptyk
“He bullied me for being gay. Ironically, while in college, he actually came out as gay. He even asked me out on a date after he had apologized for said bullying. The date didnt go so well, and ever since then I’ve never really heard anything about him.”
ZafrinaKuu
“He is happy, rich, and has a beautiful wife.”
ARflash
“There was a girl who very kind to me when I first started attending my new school, but she immediately began a targeted bullying campaign against me when I beat her at a spelling bee. I know it sounds like a ridiculous reason, but apparently her academic standing was very important to her and I was making her feel really threatened. She along with her mother, who was a teacher at the school, bullied me until my parents decided that I should just switch to another school.
However, she didn’t end up doing anything interesting with her life even though a reputation for intelligence had been important to her. She just went to one of those mediocre Christian universities, married some guy at 20, began popping out children immediately after, gained a bunch of weight, and now looks exactly like her horrible mother.
I’ll admit I’m not as nice of a person as I could be, and I do get some amusement at her looking 15 years older than me and about how she did did nothing with those ‘good grades’ that she cared so much about.”
gggggrrrrrrrrr
Posts are edited for clarity.