His personal experience with bullying prompted 13-year-old Will Kearney to write an essay about the subject that has been published in a new book, “I Wish I Knew What to Do?!” The book is a collection of essays on bullying written by teens and gives tips on how to handle bullies and harassment.

Kearney, now a freshman at McIntosh High, shares with readers in his essay, “Striking Back,” about how he was physically injured by a bully who harassed him during his sixth and seventh grade years in middle school. He talks about how he took the abuse and went home and cried at night.

Kearney describes himself as a straight-A student who never gets into trouble. Even though some people were advising him to fight back, it just was not in his character so he decided to just take the abuse.

He writes about how his experiences parallel with that of another Georgia teenager named Darryl Gray, who was also a straight-A student and had never been in trouble. Unlike Kearney, Gray struck the student who had terrorized him for two years and ended up being the one punished instead of the bully. Gray was sentenced to 90 days probation and had to pay $332 in restitution to the student who had bullied him.

Kearney writes, “My fear of breaking the rules was greater than my fear of him,” as he explains why he chose not to fight back. He summarizes that victims are often more afraid of getting into trouble than of the bullies themselves, so they take the abuse and it goes unrecognized by teachers, school administrators and parents until it goes too far.

Kearney’s essay was submitted to the 2005 Character’s Cool Contest, sponsored by the MindOH Foundation, where it received an honorable mention award. The contest is an annual program designed to further character education and empower youth to practice ethical behavior. This year’s contest focused on essays about how youth can address the cruelty of bullying by looking through the eyes of the bully, the victim and the bystander.

Kearney’s complete essay can be viewed at www.mindhofoundation.org/contest. Click on the “2004 Winners” link and select “middle school.”

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