Advertisement

Teen takes to social media to confront bullies with surprising results

What are some of your most memorable childhood memories?

No doubt they might involve the kind words of an understanding adult after an embarrassing incident, the soft smile of your classmate after crying for a week, or the grip of a new defender pulling you away from bullies.

These moments bring a myriad sense of complexity to our lives in a way we find hard to put into words, even years later -- a richness that elevates even the numbest of souls.

For a 14 year-old Quebec teen known only as Mathieu (to protect his identity), one of his most memorable moments was meeting Ariane Ferguson.

Mathieu was suffering from a torment of teasing and taunting for months at the hands of classmates from his private school College Durocher Saint-Lambert, CBC reports.

Also see: B.C. poet's anti-bullying video goes viral

"Reject" and "ugly" were just some of the names.

After confiding in older Grade 10 student Ariane Ferguson on the bus, he was encouraged to speak up. -- and so he did.

"I'm not asking for friends, but only to be respected," reads a public Facebook entry he wrote appealing for sympathy.

"I don't deserve this. You've succeeded in making the happiest boy in the world sad."

"I'm making the choice to stand up and fight against this injustice. No one should have to go through this," his post continues.

Also see: The surprise victim of bullying

Ferguson was so touched by his Facebook post that she took it upon herself to ask the administrators of ConneriesQc.com -- a website popular with Quebec teens -- to post it on their site.

They agreed and Mathieu appeal was an instant success. Within hours there were thousands of comments supporting him and even a few apologies, CBC reports.

When it was time for Mathieu to return to school he received an unexpected welcome.

"Everybody was waiting for him in the hallway and they all started to applaud," Ferguson says.

And as for Mathieu? He now claims the day he wrote his Facebook appeal was the best day of his life.