Pipay opens up on being bullied in school over her congenital hand defects

Pipay has opened up on her experiences of being bullied because of her congenital hand defects.

In an episode of "Your Honor," the content creator said she lived a pretty normal life as a child, until she went to school where the bullying started.

"Actually, maganda naman ang life ko noong bagets. Kaya lang, noong nag-start ako pumasok sa school, ewan ko parang nawala lahat ng confidence, ganoon. Kasi parang naka-meet ka ng mga bagong tao," Pipay shared. 

"'Yung mga bullying na na-try ko noong elementary days ko talaga, parang anong nangyari sa kamay ko? Naputokan daw ba ng fireworks? Ganoon. Basta parang kukutsain ka nang kukutsain at tatargetin talaga sa'yo physical," she added. 

Aside from verbal bullying, Pipay also said that she experienced being bullied physically.

"Actually, noong elementary, parang, mostly, mga lalaki sa school. Parang nag-i-start 'yung mga pride sila. Parang pa-alpha-alpha sila eh. Maliit ako noong elementary," she said.

"Tapos, parang kinakaya-kaya nila ako. Kasi, ano, very, soft talaga ako. Very feminine. Tapos, parang, mostly, ang friends ko talaga mga babae. So, ngayon, mga lalaki, grupo-grupo, parang, pinagtitripan," Pipay added.

Despite this, Pipay said that she wasn't deeply hurt, thanks to the strong support of her family and friends.

"Dahil siguro, may mga friendship ako to support. Iba rin talaga 'yung mayroon kang support system sa school na parang, ang ano, na parang tutulong sa 'yo sa ganon at maganda 'yung foundation na nabubuo mo sa bahay talaga."

She also opened up about the negative comments she received when she started content creation at 19, saying that while they taught her how to handle criticism, they took a toll on her mental health at the time.

"Pinalakas niya ako personally. Parang pinalakas niya 'yung perception ko. 'Yung pagtanggap ko ng opinions, ng criticism. Pero kasi dati noong nag-start ako 19 tapos parang parang hindi pa ako actually ready maka-receive ng bad comment na bad criticism," Pipay said.

"Hindi ako basically ready sa ganon. Hindi ready 'yung mental health. Hindi ko in-expect. Tapos parang hindi ako ready sa kung paano ko siya iha-handle," she added.

Pipay also shared some words for bullies to reflect on.

"Sa bullies, try n'yo tumingin sa salamin. Tapos ask 'yung sarili n'yo bakit kailangan n'yo manakit ng iba. Gusto ko lang din sabihin sa inyo na ano na matatanda na kayo. Dapat marunong kayong mag-reflect sa mga ginagawa nyo," she said. 

"And also gusto ko lang sabihin sa inyo na 'di ba bully kills, bullying damaged people. And also wala naman kasing bayad maging mabait."

A social media star, Pipay is known for her first viral video was about a fictional character she created named "Juswa."

She made her TV debut in a special anniversary episode of "Wish Ko Lang" and has appeared in several Kapuso shows such as "Black Rider" and "MAKA Lovestream." —Jade Veronique Yap/MGP, GMA Integrated News