I don’t like those bullies, the ones at school;
Every single day they make me feel and look a fool.
I dread each day, it’s tough to face;
Everyday I am here, I just want out of this place.

Where can I go? I don’t know where to turn;
Someone to trust, a friendly face is all I yearn.
The girls are so nasty, they make me feel so bad;
Each day when I get home,  all I ever feel is sad.

I heard ‘them’ the other day, they were calling me names;
Hearing this day after day makes me feel shamed.
I could tell a teacher, but will they listen?
If the bullies found out I did, I would be their number one mission.

Their mission would be to make me cry all the more;
They know I won’t tell, of that I am so very sure.
They have got me, got me under their spell;
All this upset and turmoil is making my grades suffer aswell.

I have to be strong, I think I can see some light;
I must be really brave, I can not give up without a fight.
I have heard about Cherished, from a girl in my year;
She had been bullied, she said contact Cherished and do not fear.

That day I will always remember, the turning point in my life;
I met my Cherished mentor, together we would work through all my strife.
I learnt how to talk, open up & to explain how I feel;
Seeing my Cherished mentor overtime helped me to heal.

It wasn’t easy at first to tell her about all my pain;
But each week we would meet, I could start to see all I could gain.
I am no longer that person, the one who hated school;
I am no longer that person, the one that felt a fool.

We are all so different, we are all so unique;
Now I realise this, my school no longer looks bleak.
I have found me again, I have found my voice;
Being part of Cherished has helped me realise I have a choice.

I choose my life, I at last choose me;
I like who I am, at last I feel free;
I now have friends, I have all the needed life tools;
I have Cherished to make me feel no longer that fool.

To feel CHERISHED, is to be CHERISHED.

By Emma Walls, Cherished Volunteer