Why oh why can’t I help myself falling for their bait? It happened again today: from time to time, I pass groups of kids – usually boys – who think it’s funny to taunt and mock me. They obviously do it to get a reaction, and I know I should just ignore them, but for some reason I can’t help shouting back. I feel insulted that I should be the butt of their childish jokes, when I have achieved more than they probably ever will. Today, for example, I was passing the small park at the bottom of my road when a group of three lads decided it was funny to make grunting noises at me and doing grotesque impressions of people with learning difficulties. That instantly pissed me off: I am proud of who I am and what I have achieved, and refused to be laughed at by some degenerate piece of shit probably bunking off school. Yet when I tried to shout back to tell them to stop, it only made things worse, leading me to get even more angry. Then, when I began to type a message for them into my Ipad, they scarpered.

I know I should just ignore it, and that reacting to them only encourages their mockery. Part of me is frustrated with myself for not being able to just let it slide: why do I keep falling for their bait like a particularly stupid fish? Yet my pride demands that I stick up for myself, and to try to put these uneducated little shits in their place, even though I know that trying to do so just makes things worse.