I am a huge fan of Justin Timberlake. I always have been and I always will be. Last year, Justin won the 2015 iHeart Music Innovator Award and his acceptance speech was life-changing for me. I have always admired him, but his speech on how he has not always been the successful, cool guy that he is now made me grow even fonder of him.

In middle school, I was bullied. No, not physically bullied, but verbally, emotionally, and mentally. I was tortured by several girls and their harsh cruel words. Their name-calling, their texts (usually from blocked numbers), their constant whispering and laughing behind my back, and more. They made my middle school experience, and even part of high school, a living hell for me. I had no friends because of them. My confidence was destroyed. I truly thought in my 13 year old mind that the words they were speaking of me being weird, different, fat, etc. were true.

I was wrong.

They were wrong.

Luckily, my confidence grew strongly when I reached college. I realized that being different, a nerd, and all of those other things those girls called me (and some still do), were not bad qualities at all. Instead, those are what make me, well, me. The fact that I am different, the fact that I am a nerd, the fact that I am smart, those are all things that make me important. Those are the qualities that make me the hard worker. They make me the great student that I am. They make me the future doctor that I want to be.

And I am here to say, to all of the middle school students, high school students, victims of bullies, anyone and everyone that society passes as different, weird, and anything other than normal, that you are what makes this world go round. You matter. You exist. You are smart. You are kind. You are beautiful. You will be successful. You will be the doctors, the lawyers, the scientists, the actors, the everything. You are an innovator. So, stay calm. Stay humble. Stay hungry. Stay wanting. Be creative. Be ambitious. Be you.