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     Beautiful Lexi is both a victim of bullying and an “Upstander.” She even wrote a "Friend Mail" letter to our first Project Youth! Lexi is a smart, interesting and caring girl from New York with very creative hobbies and ideas about her personal style that cause her to stand out. She loves to express her creativity by baking and decorating theme cakes that bring joy to others. She’s a popular babysitter because she is fun, warm and protective.

        Lexi first became the target of bullies in 4th Grade after she was the first in her class to color her brunette hair with strands of blue.  Classmates taunted her and called her names like “weird.” Verbal bullying led to social bullying when Lexi’s circle of friends began to leave her out of invites to birthday parties and sleepovers only to brag about their fun times in front of her, purposely wanting her to feel like an outcast. Lexi bravely found a new circle of friends… but now, a few grades later, she is once again battling bullies.

        In seventh grade, it began with two neighborhood girls who would be friends with Lexi one day and then exclude her the next. While forming close bonds and "posses" is normal among friends, it is not normal to purposely make other kids feel that they are not good enough to join. This hurtful pattern escalated to physical intimidation. A slight thirteen-year-old, Lexi was routinely pushed at the bus stop and had her glasses broken. Lexi’s parents reported the incidents to the school and had conversations with the girls’ parents. Immediately, the physical bullying stopped, but social-bullying tactics have continued. Lexi heard rumors that she would be “jumped” and that “everyone hated her.” The bullying girls made friends with Lexi’s new circle of friends, inviting them over to their homes to play, but not allowing the mutual friends to invite Lexi to play.  Recently, she has been cyber-bullied with attempts to humiliate her on social media such as Pinterest and Instagram.

        It's a fact... "social pain" tends to produce the most severe stress and the strongest emotional reaction. Understandably, Lexi, recently a high honors student, has been struggling with her classes as her attention has shifted from schoolwork to handling the emotional effects of the bullying. She often feels depressed and wishes she could be home-schooled. She is fortunate to have supportive parents and a good counselor, yet acceptance and friendship of peers is important - for everyone! That’s where YOU and the Be-A-Friend Project can make a difference!