Dear haters and bullies,
Thank you. Thank you for all the discouraging words and backstabbing moments. Thank you for insulting and patronizing me. Thank you for showing me what bitterness does to a person.
Without your unfaithfulness to our friendship, I would still think you're a good friend. Without your hate, I may never have grown to be as kind as I am today.
All those times you were kind to my face and rude behind my back shows me you have issues of your own. For the longest time, I thought I was the problem. I thought I was weird or annoying. I apologized for bothering you.
The only mistake I made was ever trusting someone like you.
Someone who puts their needs before everyone else's. Someone who gains someone's trust just to learn something they can hold against you. Someone who cares more about appearances than faithfulness. Someone who pressures others. Someone who loathes kindness and feeds off of it to cause harm.
I blamed myself for way too long. Luckily, I don't think that way anymore. Something happened over the years-- I realized I never did anything wrong.
I feel sorry for you.
You must have gone through some pretty traumatic experiences to want to focus all your energy on ruining someone's else's life. Who hurt you?
Some of you ruined my life during elementary school. You told other kids not to be friends with me because my teenage sister was having a baby. You told others I was a bad influence.
Some of you ruined my middle school years by telling boys I liked that I was weird. You told them they shouldn't waste their time on me.
Some of you ruined my high school years by excluding me and starting rumors about me.
The worst by far were those of you who ruined my college experience. I couldn't even get through my first semester without getting ridiculed.
In my first semester of college, I came home to my apartment one day to a room full of girls who stood there and told me I wasn't that pretty, I was annoying, no one really liked me, and that my happiness annoyed them.
"You're too happy all the time, and it's really annoying. You're so fake."
I walked out of there apologizing. For about 10 minutes, you actually convinced me of everything you said.
I've learned so much from all of you.
Most importantly, I learned how to be a good friend. Even though I have some painful memories because of you, I also have some good ones.
Because of those girls who ruined my first semester at college, I looked for new friends. I ended up volunteering to help with the baseball team, and now I'm getting married to one of the players.
Life has a funny way of working itself out.
You may have thought you ruined my life, but you only made me stronger. Because of your harsh words, I've learned how to treat people with respect. With your hatred, I've learned the importance of loving my neighbors.
So, here is my thanks to you for showing me what bitterness does to a soul: it ruins it. I came out on top, and most of you either peaked in high school or still spend your life "trying" to ruin others. You may have hurt me for a couple of years, but I get my happily ever after.
What do you have?
