Bullying continues to be a massive issue. If you’re reading this, it’s likely that you may have been a victim at some point in your school life. You’re not alone if you’ve ever wondered what became of the people who used to harass you. In some cases, cosmic justice is served. At other times—not so much.

Some internet users revealed what happened to their school bullies later in life, in a viral and very vulnerable thread on Quora. Read on for their emotional and powerful stories.

A small note of warning: some parts of these tales might make you feel very uncomfortable if you’ve been through something similar in the past, Pandas.

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#1

Two boys in my eighth grade class made my life a living h**l. 20 years later I went to my reunion and one of them them was there. He came up to me and told me he had flown in from California to apologize to me. I was never so happy in my life.

© Photo: Pat Gerace

#2

Our class bully, Tim, was a real thug. Once Tim demanded my brother’s lunch money, waited until his hand was deep in his pocket, and then punched him when he couldn’t raise his arm to block the punch. At my 10 year reunion another classmate turned out to be working as a guard at our state’s maximum security prison. He told us, “Tim sends his regards but won’t be able to attend reunions for the next 20 years.”

© Photo: Walt Schrengohst

#3

I had a school bully who used to bully and intimidate me in front of girls, he was much taller and stronger than me. Complaining to the teachers did not help.

I planned to take him on my own, and once when he was unaware, I pushed him down the stairs. He went rolling down like 15 stairs, and I followed behind him and kicked him in his stomach and on his face. One teacher broke up the fight, and separated me from him. The teachers scolded me, but I was too angry to hear her rant , I was totally unaffected by what the teacher was saying. Ultimately, the teachers punished me and called me a shameless fellow.

Next day, our parents were called in school in the principal’s office. The principal was out somewhere, and both the fathers started discussing what had happened. I had already told my father everything.

To my and my father’s surprise, the bulleys father apologized to my dad for his sons behavior, my father was surprised and said that they are kids fights happen, you don’t need to apologize. The bullet’s father then went down on one knee and apologized to me for his son’s behavior. He also made his son apologize to me.

Just then the principal came and started complaining to my father about my behavior. The bulleys father intervened, said his son deserved worse and he has no complaints. Basically everyone left the principal’s office things sorted out.

But from the next day, the behavior of the bully changed, not only towards me but towards everyone in the class. He became more humble, more studious. He also used to break up fights, but never raised his hands on anyone except to defend. Basically later he got a lot of friends. We both also became friends and are still friends 25 years later.

I later learned that his father is a very rich industrialist’s owning 5 factories. He easily had the clout to teach me a lesson, he admonished and disciplined his son instead. Today my friend looks after his father’s business and has clients in many countries, he is a successful industrialist.

© Photo: Mayuresh Fulambrikar

According to ‘Stop Bullying,’ a website managed by the US Department of Health and Human Services, there isn’t a single profile of a young person involved in bullying. Bullies are very varied, from socially connected youths to those who are marginalized. In some cases, those who are bullied start bullying others themselves.

There are no easy or simple solutions to bullying. The issue requires a complex approach, “from many angles,” which includes the entire school community: from students and teachers to families and administrators. These solutions also require involving school staff from drivers and nurses to cafeteria workers, too.

#4

In my case it wasn’t the school bully but the mean girls. There’s nothing nastier than an entitled teenager.

Many years later I’m on my way back to the office after lunch. I had lost a lot of weight and my hair is still mostly black despite my age. I’ve been told many times that I look much younger than my years.

There was a woman getting out of her car in the parking lot across from my office. She was one of the mean girls at my high school. She hadn’t aged well and had become very large. Despite this, I recognised her and I could tell by the look on her face that she also recognised me.

I was having a good hair day and enjoying the weather. I smiled, waved and continued on my way.

© Photo: Vivian Bohn

#5

My elementary bully was one of those girls who insisted she was cute, popular, and the best at everything, so everyone else should go to h**l. I mean, she would try to [be bad] me into all these sorts of contests that were so pointless and meaningless because it would be me against her and her two best friends. Singing contest? Her friends vote for her. Beauty contest? Her friends vote for her. In other words, stupid stuff that people like me should never be subjected to. It was humiliating for me, especially since I didn’t want any part of it, and on top of that it hurt my feelings all the time because they had zero respect for me whatsoever.

Fast forward ten years.

I received a call just a couple months ago from her. I had no clue who she was (I still don’t quite remember her or all the atrocities she forced on me), but she knew me. She even introduced herself as the girl who bullied me constantly. Turns out, she has no friends, she dropped out of high school, and has no future to look forward to. She said she needed a friend because her friends had ditched her, and she was so ruthless to everyone else in school that no one wanted to even be around her. So, without even apologizing for anything she did as a child, she asked if we could get together sometime for coffee or lunch and we could chat and catch up. I told her I’d think about it, and hung up. I have not, and will not, call her back.

I might be rude for doing so, but she really f**ked things up as a kid. She’s learning now just what kind of hellish fury she unleashed on everyone, as what goes around comes back around.

© Photo: Vaan Cotton

#6

I had a couple of those.

One “popular girl” used to call me lesbian geek (I’m not homosexual, but have many gay friends) because I played basketball and volleyball and a lot of the guys she liked were my friends through sports. However, she thought that I liked those guys too (I did, a little bit). She saw me as a threat because they used to talk to me at lunch. To get back at me, she started telling everyone I went to Oakland to sleep with black men on the weekends. It kinda backfired, because all those guys asked me if it was true. My answer was, “I wish”. Those guys all laughed at the rumor along with me. She never got to date any of those guys that she liked.

Today, she is an unwed single mother with 3 kids from different baby daddies. In a way, I’m glad she had fun sleeping around, but she is 30 with the oldest one at 12 years old.

I’m praying for her sort of.

© Photo: Katie Perez

Everyone plays an important part in creating a culture of respect, including bystanders, who can have a massive impact if they intervene when they see or learn about someone being harassed.

‘Stop Bullying’ notes that a zero-tolerance approach to bullying is not an effective approach. Nor is expulsion. What is effective, however, is focusing on a model of kindness and respect, when adults talk to children about bullying, encourage them to do what they love, and seek help when necessary.

#7

In 6th grade, this one kid tried bullying me. He made fun of me in the locker room and shoved me around on the bus rides home. I was pretty unfazed though, so he must’ve gotten bored and just stopped.

I’m a second year in college now. I looked him up on Facebook out of the blue just to see how people from my childhood are doing. I didn’t even see the “Remembering…” on his profile until my girlfriend pointed it out. Turns out he was driving home at around 3am, wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, and hit a tree.

I have no fond memories of him, but I also have no hard feelings. At the end of the day, he was someone’s son, someone’s brother, someone’s friend and it’s tragic what happened.

Rest in peace.

© Photo: David Zhao

#8

B., my high school ‘friend’, was also somewhat of a bully. In her case, it was about taking opportunities to put me down, by constantly mentioning the wealth and status of her parents, to denigrate my chaotic blended family, to point out all the nice shiny new things she had. She would also laugh at my shabby wardrobe.

I suppose I remained ‘friends’ with her because I am not much of a mixer.

One day, when I proudly donned a brand new two-piece swimming costume – bright yellow with navy blue and white trim, she sniffed and said” You should give that to me. I am used to having new things and you aren’t. I’ll give you one of my old bathing suits.”

Something died in me that day, but I stuck to my guns and kept my new bathing suit. I suppose that my ‘revenge’ at the time was to do better than her in exams…..

We never stayed in touch after high school.

I did see her a couple of times at our alma mater – the last time, in 2012 when I attended a reunion of our class. I found the experience to be dull, and realised that I had nothing in common with her or anyone else who had been in my class, any longer.

Her life has been turbulent, with two nasty divorces and troubles with her children. Mine? Interesting, varied, married for many years to my husband, from our partner boys’ school, and our two children are adventurous, accomplished, kind and loving.

© Photo: Arlene Walsh

#9

Got the email inviting me to the reunion, and declined it. Then received a series of emails from people I’d known, trying to encourage me to attend with them. Turned them all down, politely, with one excuse or another.

Couldn’t tell them the truth, which was that I was afraid. Oh, not afraid of the guy who made my life h**l, just for his own amusement, and because I was so small for my age. No, I was afraid that–now that I’m 6′1 and 220 pounds–I might wind up in jail at the end of the evening for breaking a certain someone’s nose. And possibly both arms.

A followup email arrived from the organizers with more details about the event, and this time included a list of those classmates who had sadly passed. His name was on it.

Had a great time at the reunion.

© Photo: User

In the United States, nearly a fifth (19.2%) of students aged 12 to 18 experienced bullying in the 2021-2022 school year. This is lower compared to the 2018-2019 school year when 22% of students were victims of bullying.

Meanwhile, the situation was even worse in 2010-2011, when nearly a third (28%) of students were bullied.

#10

I just Googled him and immediately found his mug shot. Looks like he was busted for possession of drugs.

Probably m*th, like most of the other people who never left my hometown.

© Photo: Matthew Bates

#11

There was this one jerk in seventh grade that made my life rather miserable that year and as result I developed a sort of superstition about the number 7 – when staying at hotels I requested that any room is fine, just as long as it wasn’t on the 7th floor, tried to avoid selecting a seat in the seventh row on airplane flights (usually not a problem because the 7th row is usually in first class anyway), avoided walking on any “7th” street if it was in a city that had one, etc. Silly I suppose but it’s how I dealt with the problem. I no longer have that superstition I’m happy to say.

Anyway, this guy harassed and picked on me in music and gym class probably because I had no friends in those classes and was an easy target, calling me a “gay”, pushing me so I bumped into a girl and then alleged I wanted to have [intimacy] with her, made fun of my shoes and clothes, called me every nasty name he could come up with and a lot more I’ve just chosen to forget. Fighting back was pretty hopeless given his size and friends, reporting him to the teachers or principal stopped him only temporarily given his lack of respect for any authority and already being on a first-name basis with the detention room monitors. He was one of those “tough” kids who frequently skipped class and was always in the lower level academic classes, so I didn’t see too much of him after 7th grade.

Many years later and a few years after graduating college, I’m in my hometown visiting my parents and reading the local paper, seeing the crime blotter and read about him being arrested in a domestic incident with some woman he apparently had a child with but was not married to. Curious, I do a few Google searches and find out he’s served stints in prison for armed robbery in both New York and Pennsylvania, has fathered five children from three different women and has frequently been on the county’s child support delinquency list. I know this sounds all too stereotypical of a story but I’m not making it up. I take no pleasure in any of this and feel bad for the children he’s fathered but it all comes as no real surprise to me. The strange thing is, from what I could tell he didn’t come from a “broken” home – I later learned both his parents were college graduates (he of course never went at all) and his father had a good job as a city planner.

I also found him on Facebook where he’s posted a few pictures of himself smoking weed as well as cigarettes and stating that he used to work at McDonald’s and is now a stay-at-home parent (can only hope he has the sense not to smoke in front of his kids but given his track record I doubt it).

© Photo: Chris Johnson

#12

Well call him John

John no longer has a great future.

In the UK, we get what we call Chavs. Chavs are the equivalent to delinquents and overall dont care about society. Now lets travel back a few years (2007–2011)

Now little john here was a grade A chav and had no care for others. He bullied me for 5 years in primary school. I have suffered psychological torment from him and I still have not recovered fully from those years. Today, I fully believe that my childhood was ruined by this low life thug who couldn’t care less about anything in life.

Now fast forward to the present

John has been arrested for vandalism and for drinking. Even today he still doesn’t care about anything. He remains the in the past and everyone who he interacted with has moved on. With his current direction, he will not have a bright future.

What do I think of this?

He deserves to have no future. I couldn’t care less if he was in trouble or if needed help. He caused it on himself and will reap from what he planted. Usually, I will never harbour any hostile feelings for anyone in the past, but this guy deserves everything he gets.

© Photo: Mathew Halley

Have you ever been a victim of bullying, dear Pandas? On the other hand, have you ever resorted to bullying anyone yourselves? Do you know what happened to your bullies after they left school?

It’s a very sensitive topic, but if you feel up for being vulnerable, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

#13

One of the school bullies in our high school was a particularly violent chap. He temper was short like his height but he was mighty strong and had a lot of pent up anger for some reason.

This guy punched people just for looking at him the wrong way, true story too. He once broke a guy’s nose against a locker for giving him ‘evils’ (evil eyes) briefly.

He used to brag about how he was going to join the army and “shoot up some pakis”. Definitely not the type of person I would have wanted in the army.

So years later, after graduation, I met up with another friend for drinks and we went out to a local bar. Inside, we found none other than the school bully serving our drinks. We pretended like we didn’t know each other of course and so we got our drinks and went to sit down.

My friend said he couldn’t get in the army because he was too short.

I found it quite hilarious actually. Eventually school bullies leave school and realise that violence doesn’t get you very far.

© Photo: Yvette Renshy

#14

My bully in high school was a guy who was about 2 inches taller than me, and he and another tall guy hung out together hazed and harassed and believe anybody they could. I had a locker right next to theirs, but I wasn’t really afraid of them. I wasn’t impressed at all. So their attempts to bully me sort of fizzled out.
They were impossible to ignore, but they weren’t particularly bothersome, so I guess I didn’t have much of a bullying experience. I think that guy got injured when he was working at a car wash and had part of his foot amputated in his early twenties. I still kind of feel bad for him. He never developed any social skills, and he could barely walk. I think he lived with his mother until she died, and he might still be living in her house now. I don’t get any joy out of knowing this.

© Photo: Ross Keeling

#15

I ran into my tormentor at my 40th high school reunion.

We approached each other civilly, although cautiously.

We soon found out that we had endured similar things.

Both of us served in the military. Both of us had toxic exes. Both of us had children we loved dearly.

We both admitted that we had been incompatible as friends back then. He admitted that he was a firebrand and a bully. I admitted I should have been fiercer and beat his a**. We both laughed and shook hands.

I guess both of us realized that time changes folks. It taught him that bullies get put in their place. It taught me to not be a wallflower anymore.

Two old warhorses that lived and learned.

We’re great friends now.

© Photo: Dennis Manning

#16

Divorced with two kids working at a car detailing shop and barely making ends meet constantly bugging friends and old classmates for loans and get rich quick schemes. Living in a two bedroom apartment with three other people. He lost everything in the divorce his home his business his investments and is saddled with a crippling alimony and child support payment every month.

Even though I took multiple beatings and humiliation from him growing up I do feel bad for him and try to help him as much as I can he’s still a human being and he’s fallen on hard times. After I paid off his utilities bill a few months back he actually apologized for the way he acted in school and he wished the times we spent in school never happened like it did.

© Photo: Ryan Bessemer

#17

My school bully, was the ultimate [jerk]. In elementary school, the bully Randy would make fun of and berate old folks quietly taking their morning walks, by our bus stop. He would play jokes and make fun of handicapped, prank on nerdy students, just to get laughs from other classmates. Randy thought he owned the school. He would steal milk from random kids lunch trays, because he knew nobody would challenge him. His antics disrupted the entire classroom, as many teachers found his constant inappropriate behavior totally uncontrollable. Randy’s entire early school years were spent making mockeries of anyone he chose.

Then, after graduating High School he became a depressed alcoholic, as he failed to gain the audience he enjoyed in elementary and middle schools. His dad was a successful contractor and Randy was poised to inherit the business entirely, being an only child. He was crossing a busy street one day after having an argument with a bar patron while drunk and walked straight into a speeding vehicle, killing him instantly at 21 years of age.

Moral of his story? Be kind to others, for karma will run over your dogma…

© Photo: Zachary Abelardo

#18

Well, one guy I considered a bully died from a gun shot while he attempted to rob his father’s business. I would not have wished this on him, and others I’ve asked about him felt that deep down he was a good guy who lost his way and was put in circumstances he had no idea how to cope with. I believe this.

I also believe that almost all bullies get what’s coming to them. They will eventually either reform and atone for their ways or they will have a comeuppance. The comeuppance will either be in the form of rough justice from the abused or a string of divorces, lost jobs, and lost opportunities.

I myself have never been a bully. But I have participated in the sort of crowd cruelty that kids are very good at. In one case where I have had the opportunity, I apologized for this. If I were able to, I would apologize to each and every person I showed cruelty to, however petty. This includes failing to properly defend others who were abused.

© Photo: Jeff Mackey

#19

He did his degree, masters…, his school bully meanwhile is a college dropout who was fired from his job due to bad behavior, making it hard for him to find a job, he meanwhile started his own business, but he wanted revenge on that bully, knowing the Character of the bully very well, knowing what provoked him, he then called the bully and then agreed to give him a job, and he gave him finance part, which he knew the bully will steal the money.

So after a month he did an audit and found out some stolen money, which the bully started giving excuses, he gave the bully the full account proof of how much was missing which was a small amount, then filed a lawsuit against him, cut his salary due to looses, the guy has nothing has to pay to court with nothing! then showed proof of him stealing money from the register with a security camera!, had to use his parents money for his lawyer, then ended up being imprisoned for fraud for a month!, pretty much ruined his life, as any company hiring him would see this crime!, he took great and an evil revenge!

© Photo: Justin Simon

#20

I remember what happened to one bully from elementary school. He was always getting into fights on the playground, always intimidating people, scaring them.

He k*lled his father.

Guess he was just a bad apple, right? A psychopath?

Maybe not.

Ends up, the “bully” was enduring watching his mom get beat at home regularly by his father; when the judge and jury reviewed the facts around the father’s violence, the then-older-teen was pronounced not guilty and did not go to jail.

It also came out, later, that he was being sexually abused (sodomized, to be clear here, not just “fondled”) by the librarian at the school, to whom he was assigned to do chores for because of his bad behavior on the playground.

Funny what labels do, (and not do, like find solutions) isn’t it?

© Photo: Sara Stone

#21

I married her.

I met this girl in grade school. She bullied me relentlessly for years. Of course a boy being bullied by a girl back in grade school inspired more bullying by other kids. Then in the 7th grade she left our school and I was relieved for her to be gone. Then when I entered high school a few years later I bumped into her again in one of my classes. She didn’t seem to remember me but I remembered her. Funny thing was, she had become a very friendly person by this point. I had no idea what inspired this change in her but it would make me chuckle sometimes. We were never really friends in high school but we shared a few classes. Had a few friendly conversations.

Then I went to college and again didn’t see her for a few years.

A few years after college I returned to my hometown and ran into her again (obviously). We really hit it off this time around. We fell in love and we are now married and have children together. My having a bully was the best thing that ever happened to me. I even look back on our grade school years fondly now.

© Photo: Joel Rice

#22

You’re probably not going to believe me, but this is a true story. I was constantly bullied as a kid by this one guy in the neighborhood. He didn’t miss a chance to pick on me. It seems like everywhere I went, he would show up and start trouble with me. He even bullied me one night on Halloween with a group of his evil friends. They held my brother back while this guy grabbed my bag of candy, and threw it all over the place.

Years later, I heard he had joined a motorcycle gang. I was told that he was out driving alone on the highway, and tried to pass a car that was slowing him down. As he was going past the car, he made an error, and hit an oncoming truck. I was told his bike was crushed as it slid under the truck’s wheels, and he died.

© Photo: David Giles

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