Bullying
Judd's story

How do you get through tough times? Judd was being teased at school. He counted talking with his dad to get through it. Now, he’s looking towards a bright future.

My father, he is an unbelievable person. My dad grew up in a situation where his father ran away from his family at a very young age. My dad has a lot of brothers and sisters, and he is the oldest. He really had to take on the man-of-the- house role. He had to do all the things a father would do, and put up money for some things. He went through all the things I'm going through in life, without a father.

When I was younger, I got teased about my weight and how I looked. I can see pictures today, and see that I was really fat. But I knew it was wrong for people to tease me. I knew I was going to get teased, but I didn't know what it was going to be about, or who was going to do it. I woke up in the morning saying, I really don't want to go to school today, because I know I'm going to get teased.

The thing my father taught me to do is just to be yourself. You know, speak for yourself. I respect my father. He loves us, and he shows it.

Knowing that my dad was there for me and was a shoulder to lean on was the key to my success. Even today, knowing that my dad is there to talk about any life problem I have is an unbelievable feeling.

If you're being your own person and other kids don't like you, find your own definition of cool. Just hang with them and say, ‘Hey, those aren't the cool kids. These are the cool kids.’

I didn’t get to that point overnight. Having someone to talk to is the most important thing. In my case, it was my dad. It might be a brother, or it might be a best friend. But you need to find that special person to help you through the tough times. I guess the motto I would give a kid in my situation is there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.