I stood up to a bully when I was 12.
In 7th grade, a boy named Craig gave me a necklace, flowers and chocolates for Valentine’s Day. Since I absolutely did not return his affections, and as my dad
told me to do, I very politely returned the gifts to him. Dad made sure I explained to him as nicely as I good that I was flattered, but since I didn’t feel the same way, I couldn’t keep them.
The next day at lunch, in the middle of the entire cafeteria, his best friend Sherri came over to my table (I was sitting at the end), explained that Craig was her best friend and I “humiliated” him and slapped me hard across the face. Sherri was the biggest girl in 7th grade and everyone was afraid of her. I still remember sitting there with my face burning, both from pain and the realization that EVERYONE was staring at me.
The brave part comes next: After a few minutes, Sherri walked back over to me and said she was sorry for slapping me. I stood up, looked her right in the eye, slapped her as hard as I could, and said “you should be!” I will never forget how hard my heart was beating.
The entire cafeteria broke out into applause.
I’ve also been parachuting a couple times, but like a previous poster said, I didn’t ever fear it, so I don’t consider it brave. My family does, though, so they think I’m a bada$$.
