Some people call me a "bully buster." I'm 17 but I've done my own research about , I've written a survival guide, and I've been bullied myself. I believe there's a lot we can do to stop bullying!

To share that hope, I often visit elementary, middle, and high schools. If I came to your school, here's what I'd do in the all-school assembly: I'd ask everybody to close their eyes for a minute.

Then I'd ask you to think of a time when you may have been bullied. Perhaps somebody said something mean to you or gossiped about you. Somebody may have punched or kicked you; the point being, an individual or a group of people did something to you that made you feel bad about yourself.

With everyone's eyes closed, how many hands do you think would reach into the air? Ten, 20, maybe 40, tops? The answer is ... at least ¾ of the students raise their hands — 3 out of every 4 kids admit to going through similar experiences of bullying!

You're Not Alone

If you have been a victim of bullying, you probably understand the how lonely it feels. You might have even thought to yourself, "There can't be anyone else in my whole school going through this type of torment!" But, as my experiment shows, it's simply not true.

I know a few years ago, when I was in eighth grade, I sure felt that way. I have always been rather— I'm like 5 feet and 11 inches tall now — and I'm also quite the science nerd. I went to an all-girls middle school so things were pretty catty, especially to someone who was a little different from the rest of the pack. I went through a lot of shunning and name calling in eighth grade and I used to spend our lunch and break times in the bathroom, many times crying.