h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

In year 7 through 'til year 9 I was bullied by my (so called) best friend.

I've been ill all my life, born without an oesophagus and what have you and was off school quite a lot.
She basically spread around the school that I was faking it and wasn't really ill at all. That I was skipping school because I had an excuse I could use that no one would question.
If I was a dishonest person, I probably *would* have done what it is that she suggested I was doing but I could never do that. I actually wanted to be in school, just like all the other kids. To be normal like everyone else.

Eventually I got well enough to be able to manage school full time, but I still got sly looks off her and snide comments were made constantly between her and my other friend (who was more hers than mine, really)

The reason I stayed friends with her was because, by then, everyone'd found their 'gang' if you like, and I felt if I left our 'gang' I'd not be able to make any friends.
Turns out my ex from year 7 and a load of girls from primary school who I'd sort of lost touch with were happy to take me in when I eventually snapped online at my 'best friend' one evening.

during the time that she was picking on me (I spose it was picking on me rather than bullying... I think...)
I felt very self-concious, very low and stupid. I felt she was everything I couldn't be and that I'd never be as good as her.

Things have cooled down now and all is good. She's nice to me and pretends nothing ever happened. She apologised for thinking I was faking it (although I'm sure she just did that to make it look like she were the better person) and we got on with our lives.
I hardly ever see her any more anyway, we've both moved on. She's still in school, I have a full time job. I live with my boyfriend, she still lives at home.
If we ever meet up, we'll have nothing to talk about, despite everything we've done that neither of us know about.
The friendship, I suppose, isn't there any more.

And as for never being as good as her, well... We're both very different people (I lean towards the 'gothic' side of things and she's more a 'trendy' kind of person) with very different needs and outlooks on life (and no I'm not a stereotypical 'goth' who's depressed, cuts herself and likes to wear black all the time, painting her face white and wearing black lipstick) and very different social circles.
She's still friends with those from school, I've made a whole new bunch of friends, only really keeping (ever so slightly) in touch with my *new* best friend (which I made in year 10) who's boyfriend's good friends with mine.

The point of my random little thing is, I was bullied, I hated it, didn't really understand what was going on until I spoke to people on the outside of the gang and managed to rise above my 'best friend' and, well, get over it.
I'm not saying that everyone should 'get over' getting bullied as I totally realise that most peoples' cases are much worse than mine. But it can be done, if you just try hard enough anyway. Realise that they're the ones in the wrong, you've done nothing wrong, there's nothing at all wrong with you no matter how much they make you feel there is and that, no matter what, there *is* someone out there who's willing to help and will get you through it the way you *need* to get through it.