RE-RELEASE: Standing up to your bully!

0:00Never stop being who you are. Never stop being the person you are created to be. Just because someone teases you or bullies you. Welcome to the Different Ability Podcast. I'm your host, Katie Fortune. The girl that says it's not my disability, it's my different ability. We are going to dig deep every week discussing the challenges, the struggles, the successes and wins with being different. We will bring you inspiring and motivating stories and messages of people with different abilities that are living their best lives the way they were created. Are you ready? I know I am. Let's do this. Hey, hey, welcome to the Different Ability Podcast and I am your host and friend Katie Fortune. Thank you so much for being here today. All right, let's get to it.

1:00This is going to be a short and sweet one. So if you wanted to hear my voice for a long time today, I apologize that will not happen because I have a lot of things to do. That sounds terrible. That sounds really terrible that I just said that, but it's true. But I do want to talk about something really important to me. And it actually kind of was thrown in my face last night. I was on my phone, on Facebook or something, watching little clips of things and there was a clip of a singing competition that came on. And I don't remember which one it was. But the girl came on to talk about how she grew up and had a really difficult time growing up because of bullying. It really, really pulled up my heartstrings. And that's what I want to talk about today. There is a reason that I am so adamant and always talking about learning about yourself and advocating for yourself and building confidence. But you know what?

2:00It's not easy to build confidence. And the only person that can build confidence is you. But what does it have to do with bullying? Well, I want to share a story with you because I have been teased. And I'm sure I've been teased a lot more than I even know. But honestly, I don't really pay attention to other people when they're not nice. When I was in fifth grade, I had my first experience to my knowledge that I can remember of being teased. I will never forget walking down the fifth grade hallway. It was the first time I had to leave the class to go to a different room to get help. And I remember walking down the hallway and I looked up and a friend of mine came around the corner. And he looked at me and said, hey, Katie, going to the special classroom, I remember feeling really shocked, unprepared, and really nervous, kind of ashamed. But I looked up at him, took a deep breath and said,

3:00yeah, I am. And I walked down by. Now, obviously, that was a moment in my life that I'll never forget because I'm still talking about it today. But there's a bigger reason why I'm talking about it. Yeah, I was teased. But you know what? That person and I were friends all the way through school. I didn't allow his teasing or questioning or making fun of me, even in that brief moment, to affect me. Now, don't get me wrong. When I turned the corner to go down the other hallway, oh my gosh, I was shaking so nervous, but yet so proud of myself. And here's the deal. I'm not mad at him. I never was. Heck, we went and played football on the playground right after that. But why? Now that I look back on it, I know I didn't feel this way at this time. But when I look back at it now, that was the first time I had the opportunity

4:01to stand up for myself. So I say that he gave me this opportunity. I took something not so great and turned it into a lesson for myself. Bullying is not okay in any way, shape or form. I am not condoning it. I think it's terrible. And if you're listening to this and you are a bully, knock it off. And if you're listening to this and you've been bullied, you're not alone. But guess what? What that bully says about you has nothing to do with you. It has everything to do with themselves. So please do not take to heart the trash they say to you. And I'm going to call it trash because it is. You keep being you. Well, hello. So big news. I have a new product on my online shop. And you should head over and check it out when you were done listening to this episode.

5:01Go over to www.shopkady4tune.com and check out the new stickers that I just launched on the shop. Now you can stick these anywhere you want. Your laptop, notebooks, iPads, phones, water bottles, really anywhere you want. And you can support and celebrate the different ability brand each and every day. And also, stay tuned because there's another launch coming very, very soon. Thanks so much for supporting the different ability brand. Now go ahead on over to the shop and check it out. Never stop being who you are. Never stop being the person you were created to be. Just because someone teases you or bullies you. And again, it's not fun. It's not nice. It is terrible to go through. But you are strong. You are amazing.

6:02And you even taking that small step just like I did. And standing up for yourself. And quite honestly, what else is he going to say? Okay, do you go into this special classroom? And I look at him, and I stand up straight and tall and say, yeah, I am. He really has nothing else to say. And you walk on by. And you might ask, where did that come from? My answer is I have no idea. I have absolutely no idea where that came from. But I needed to do it. And I'm very proud that I did. And you know what? He never, ever question me or ask me that again. Like I said before, we went outside and played football after. Now I know that wasn't a terrible bullying experience or a terrible teasing experience. But it is something that's stuck with me. But weirdly, I thank him. I thank him every day. Because he did give me that opportunity to stand up for myself

7:03for the first time. And every single time I stand up for myself, I get stronger, I gain more confidence, and I accept myself more. Every single time. So again, if you are someone that has been bullied, you are not alone. And you do not need to be alone. Number one, tell someone. I'm done with this whole, ooh, it's just a tail tail tail. Don't care. It's wrong, and it needs to be stopped. Bad behavior needs to be stopped. Or it'll never get better and people will keep doing it. And number two, stand up to them. Even if the first few times you just do it in your head. Practice. Stand up to them. And if you haven't been bullied or teased, but you see someone being bullied, please stand up for that person. Tell that bully to knock it off. We are all in this together. And let's do the right thing.

8:03I don't know. Maybe not bully people, not tease people. Come on. The world can be a better place. And honestly, it needs to be. But if you see someone being teased or bullied, stand up for them. Because they just might need you. You know what they do need you. We all need someone in our corner, standing up for us. Because you know what? That also will help us stand up for ourselves too. I believe in you. You are amazing. And keep being you. Just the way you are created. Whether other people like it or not. Because you, my friend, are amazing. Thank you so much for listening to this week's episode. I do have a tiny little thing I want to talk about here. At the end. So stick with me just for a few more minutes. But I truly want to say thank you so much for being here. Being with me on this crazy journey. And I look forward to hearing from you. Reach out to me on Facebook, Instagram, all the places linked in.

9:04I would love to hear from you. Now, real quick, really, really, really quick. I want to talk about a program that I took. And the deadline to join the program is honestly today. I'm terrible. I'm so last minute. I'm sorry. But really, it's incredible. And that's why I'm saying it on here today. If you have ever thought about creating a course. Or a program. Or a mastermind. Or a signature offer. This is for you. My friend, April Beach, has an incredible company called The Sweet Life Company. And she has an amazing course that I took myself earlier this year. And I'm actually going to be hopping on each week as much as I can for this next course. It's the same course. But she's offering it again. And I'm going to hop on and keep relearning some stuff. But if you are interested in learning how to create your own digital course, program, mastermind event,

10:07all the things. Check out the description in this podcast episode. And sign up. You will not regret it. April is amazing. And her entire team are incredible people. I am so grateful for them. Because I learned exactly what I want to do next in my business. And a little hint for you. I've talked a little bit about it. I am creating my first signature offer. And it's for parents that want to advocate for their children. And I am so excited to bring it to you. I'm going to be honest. Still working through it. It's all laid out. Now I'm creating the content and getting it ready to launch hopefully I'm crossing my fingers soon. So here's the deal. Today is the last day that you can sign up. So go ahead and check out the description of this episode. Click the link and go get more information. And I know April will probably be doing more of these in the future. But truly just get to know her.

11:09Because she has her own podcast, by the way. And she is creating content and courses and amazing resources for people every single day. And I have learned so much from her. So thank you so much for letting me celebrate my friend April. And all she's doing because I've taken the course. It has been very successful for me. And if you ever thought about doing something like that, you got to check her out. And today, October 13th 2021 is the last day you can sign up. All right. You have an amazing day. And as always, it's not your disability. It's your different ability. Use your different ability to change the world. Have a great day. Wow. Can you believe it? It's already done. Another episode is complete. Thank you so much for listening today. And if you want more, head on over to katiefortune.com

12:09forward slash podcast. There you will find a link to all of the different ability podcast episodes along with where you can join the exclusive different ability podcast Facebook group. Lastly, if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend or family member. And I would love it if you left a five star review. The more reviews and ratings we get, the more incredible stories we can share each week. And remember, it's not your disability. It's your different ability. Are you ready to share it with the world?