I remember the first time I was bullied because of the clothes I was wearing. They weren’t Abercrombie and Hollister, so automatically I got picked on for dressing lower-end than everyone else.

I didn’t see the big deal, and quite frankly, I didn’t care because it wasn’t coming from people I considered friends.

Well, two years later, it started coming from people I considered friends and were close to. I didn’t know why they thought that they needed to turn their backs on me and why they were so determined to break me down.

The worst part was that it wasn’t over clothes anymore; it was over things way deeper. It was picking on my personality, the way I looked, the other people I associated with; anything I could be torn down for.

For so long, I was stuck in the victim mindset. I hadn’t done anything so why did they feel like doing this to me?

It was like I constantly questioned my self-worth, because of the things they said.

I thought to myself, “if they think and see that, then that must be how it is.” It was a constant game of "poor me" over things that I should’ve just embraced.

I let these things get to me for far too long. To the point where I would change the way I dressed, the way I smiled and did my hair, even the way I spoke.

All of this just to get some petty teenagers to like me. You might be wondering why on earth I’d do this, but it was all because of the negative mindset I had been put into by this.

I eventually realized that I didn’t need to be in this negative victim-based mindset. I branched out, and I got into my own things.

I joined the school musical and made new friends. I got involved with new sports teams and put my all into that.

I grew closer to people who loved me for me and showed me that it’s important to treasure the things that make us all unique instead of looking at them like some sort of burden.

The different things are what makes you who you are, and now I see that’s pretty darn special.

No matter what anyone else says, you are special.

I know now that I do not need the approval from others. I can be who I am and be proud of that no matter what anyone else thinks about it. I am my own special person, just like they are their own person.

I’m proud of who I am, and if it wouldn’t have been for that experience, I don’t know if I would have ever realized everything that I have now. I have let go of the negativity that they brought to me by embracing all of the things they felt were negative.

So, to those bullies; while I truly will never forget you, you have changed my life forever and for the better. For that, I thank you.