Rhelyn Harder
- Chung was bullied but he stays positive to achieve his goal in life
- Lip shared his experiences to spread awareness on anti-bullying and suicidal cases
- Though he remembers all his bullies, he still wishes the best for them
A man named Chung E. Lip shared his life experience on a Facebook group Subtle Asian Traits to spread awareness on bullying and suicide.
When he was young, his peers would say, “You’re an ugly orphan and homeless. If I were you, I’d kill myself by now.”
Chung experienced being bullied and now, he believes that as a person one is capable of eliminating bullies from our environment.
“We can’t eliminate HIV/AIDS and the discrimination BS in this world, of course, but we are damn well capable of eliminating [the] bully from ourselves and our children’s environment.”
Chung grew up in a small town in Cambodia and is the youngest of seven siblings. He became an orphan at a very young age and had no choice but to spend years living with his relatives and even on the streets. All that he had was a few pieces of clothing that were passed along from his older siblings.
Other kids were making fun of him for not having parents, a home, and a lunch box. At the age of 14, he already started to lose some of his teeth.
Because of poverty, he didn’t have friends at school. He only went to school just once or twice a week because he couldn’t afford his transportation and food. Every time he showed up in school, other kids would bully him and sometimes would hurt him physically.
“When I did show up, the other kids made fun of my old, dirty oversized school uniform, my missing teeth (it was like a thing back then), and told me I smell like garbage (well, most of my meals were from the garbage bin so). They made fun of my mom, saying that she must be really ugly to make such an ugly baby like me. They called my mom a ‘hoe,’ they spat on me, hit my head with their dirty shoes, and at times slapped me for fun.”
Growing up in such an environment made him think about committing suicide just like they wanted him to do.
“Growing up in that environment, all I thought about was to kill myself just like they told me to do. All I wanted was to end the misery and the constant reminder of how ugly I was. So, suicide was at one point my only thought.”
After several suicidal attempts, his mother words before she died from cancer was the only that keeping him alive. By then he was only 13-years old.
“When people wrong you, forgive them for they do not know what you’ve been through and you don’t know them.” his mother said.
At the age of 15, he started learning English on his own without thinking what other people would think of him. He focused more on the positive part of his life rather than looking for what he doesn’t have.
“With my mother’s spirit in me, I started to learn English mostly on my own at the age of 15. I tried not to care about what others thought of me and tried to only look at the good part of me and appreciate what I had rather than what I wish I had.”
Because of his perseverance, he excelled in English conversation and was selected by the local government to be the translation volunteer for a team from America. It was then when he met his host parents namely Nick Fisher-Broin and Cindy Fisher-Broin who were both Christian Pastors.
A year later, his host parents decided to do everything they could to sponsor him to come with them to pursue his dream of getting a higher education.
Out of seven siblings, he was the first in the family to graduate from high school and the first to pursue education beyond college.
Chung never let opportunities go to waste as he gave his all and successfully achieved his goals in life.
“From graduating from an American high school in one year to graduating from Augsburg University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and Psychology, where I was nominated almost every honors my school had to offer, to continue my graduate education in Public Health at one of the world-renowned Ivy League Institutes, Columbia University in NYC. As of 2019, I authored an autobiography book (HERS by Chung E. Lip), which will be published early in 2021.”
Though he remembers all his bullies, he still wishes the best for them.
“Where are my bullies now? Well, I wish I care enough to keep track. But I wish them all the best in their lives’ journey.”
All that he wanted to say that believing in yourself and your capabilities is the secret to be successful in life. And never let anyone define who you are and what you can’t do.
“But this is not about me. It’s about us, all of us. I want us to believe in ourselves and our capabilities. I want us not to let those around us define who we are/aren’t and what we can/can’t do.”
To those who experienced being left out and bullied by other people, he wanted to remind them that a person should live and be proud of him/her self.
“Despite our circumstances, I want us to define ourselves. To love ourselves for who we are and where we’re at. If you are going through a stage in life where you don’t see a point of living, remember that there is always someone to live for: It’s you! There’s always someone to make proud: It’s you. I want us to look in the mirror each morning and see the beautiful person we are, and go about our day to treat others the way we want to be treated despite the treatment we may receive in return.” Chung E. Lip said.
