Laura Rhodes
Laura Rhodes
Remembering an Angel:
Laura Rhodes
by Kevin Caruso
Laura Rhodes was a beautiful, caring, and very sensitive 13-year-old girl who
lived in Cimla, Neath, South Wales.
But Laura had a serious problem that sent her into a deep depression - she was incessantly bullied at the school she attended, Cefn Saeson Comprehensive School in Neath.
Laura was overweight, and every day she was subjected to a barrage of cruel comments about her weight; she was also constantly subjected to profane name calling and vicious, untrue, rumors.
And some students would intentionally trip her, throw things at her, knock her books out of her hands, kick her, hit her, laugh at her, and push her as she walked down the hallways.
Laura did not know how to deal with her pain, so every time that she was bullied at school, she would eat more food to try to cope. Her weight continued to increase, and she eventually wore a size 24 at the age of 13.
And the bullying caused her to completely lose her self-confidence. In her diary, she wrote that she was "fat, ugly, and worthless." She also said that she hated every moment of every day.
Laura also went online to try to find some friends to help her cope with her problems, and
one day she met a 14-year-old girl from Longbridge, Birmingham, England, named Rebecca Ling.
Laura and Rebecca became good friends and e-mailed and text messaged each other every day. They visited each other every weekend and they even traveled to Greece together for a summer holiday.
But Rebecca was also suffering from depression and, sadly, the two young girls formed a suicide pact.
On September 6, 2004, Laura and Rebecca attempted suicide by taking an overdose of medication. Rebecca survived, but Laura passed away.
Laura was 13.
She is now an angel.
We miss you Laura.
