My Safe Space at School

When I was bullied for a few years, I didn't feel safe at school. I was unhappy, sad, and uncomfortable. I would try pretending to be sick to not go to school. In one year, I missed 95 days of school for fear of being bullied. 

I thought that when I started in a new grade in an upper-level school, everything would change. I would have friends, sit at a lunch table with friends, and be able to socialize and gossip about favorite pets and favorite boy bands. But when I started sixth grade, it didn't change at all. I was still bullied. Everyone except two people—one who is a lesbian, and another who was gay—wouldn't talk to me.

The only place where I felt safe and could eat my lunch was the library. I could talk to the librarian and help students check out books and show them where to find books.

Then in seventh grade, we got a new librarian, one who is a strong supporter of GLSEN and the LGBT community. I still hung out in the library and helped with the students. Then a few weeks later, she put up a Safe Space poster on her bulletin board. As soon as I saw that poster, I knew I was safe in the library.

When school started this year, I walked past the principal's office; I noticed that he also had a Safe Space sticker on his window. I was surprised that he had a sticker on his window. When I saw that poster and sticker, I finally knew I was safe at school. Safe to be myself, safe to come out about my sexuality. Perfectly safe. I could be free.

Katarina “Kat” S. is an eighth-grader at the Creative and Performing Media Arts School (CPMA) in San Diego, California.