Teen Gothic

The hills are on fire and we have had a prolonged wave of hell. Today was a slight reprieve only to be thrust back into the furnace again tomorrow. It's just another Summer in Australia. Where the weather tries to kill you when the local wildlife can't be bothered. Ironically there was flooding in the riverland a week ago too. Oh joy, mouse plagues mean well-fed multiplying snakes…

I'm still alive. How are you doing?

I've been doing a lot of research on the Sophie Lancaster case, and I've only now started to notice the amount of harassment I, and many other alternative people, have endured even since this happened. I've only been into the scene for 4 years, I'm in 8th grade now. I actually look a lot like Sophie, I can relate to her a lot, and her case definitely made me realize how ignorant people can be. I already knew that in the first place, but her case truly did blow my mind on how the actual fuck someone could attack, and later kill, someone because of how they look.

Last year, when I was In the 7th grade, school had just got out and I was walking out to my dad's car who parked out in the grass. I hear a group of boys behind me start barking at me and making jokes about me. I ignored them just as usual, i would've sped up if I could but I had chunky shoes on.

The school required people to take thier sports equipment home for the weekend, and these boys were on the lacrosse team. I kept ignoring them until I heard "Give me your lacrosse stick, I'm gonna hit him" and I turned around to see what they were talking about. Next thing I knew a boy who I didn't know hit me full on in the stomach with the lacrosse stick, I didn't say anything and just kept walking. I told the school, but they apparently "couldn't do anything about it" despite me having their names, I atleast expected them to get some form of detention, but they didn't. Never got any consequences.

I continued to be harassed by these boys who were never confronted once by onlookers or by staff at the school. Not even my own "friend" stood up for me. After learning about Sophie, I also found I could go to almost all my other goth friends and they would all have a similar story where they have been hit, spat on, or verbally harassed. People's ignorance, It really does boggle my mind.