Dear Bullies,

That seems like a harsh word, doesn't it? A bully is defined as "[some]one habitually cruel to others who are weaker." There's another harsh word -- "cruel." Do you want to know what else is cruel, though? Making it so that every time I meet new people, I have to approach a new friendship with caution, scared that if I open myself up to another potential friend, they will hurt me the way you did. You may not think so, but those harsh words are the exact words I would use to describe you, and how you treated me in high school.

Do you remember freshman year when you hacked my friend's Facebook, pretended to be her, and asked me all of those personal questions? Only to laugh about it at whatever sleepover you were at that night? It may have seemed like a stupid joke to you, but I cried about it for weeks, perplexed as to why I was the brunt of this "joke," and why you couldn't find amusement in something else that didn't hurt someone so badly.

The next few years, I went around paranoid of what else you'd do to me. I know it may seem silly to you, but that one, isolated incident changed the way I thought about myself all throughout high school. All I could think about was, what's next? Every time I'd see you guys in the hallway, my heart would start racing and I'd force myself to stare straight ahead. Maybe if I pretended you weren't there, you'd leave me alone.

Then, something strange happened. We became friends. Sounds weird, right? Why would I be friends with someone who hurt me so badly all those years ago? As ridiculous as it sounds, I thought that you had changed. I thought that maybe you had realized how mean you'd been to me, and wanted to start fresh. And, admittedly, I jumped at the chance of being on the "inside." If I was in your group, you wouldn't bully anymore, right? Wrong.

Do you remember all of the times you talked about me behind my back, only to text me the next day saying how "grateful you were to have a friend like me?" What about all of the times you'd hang out without me, and when I'd ask about it the next day you'd lie straight to my face?

I hope you're reading this because this is the part I really want you to remember. Do you remember when I went through that awful break-up, and instead of being there for me like I needed you to be, you sided with him? You called me "overdramatic," "crazy," and "a social climber." I needed you. I needed my friends, and you weren't there.

Now, it's nearly impossible for me to make good, close friends. I second-guess each person who tries to befriend me, because, in the back of my mind, I'm wondering if they'll end up just like you guys.

But I want you to know something -- I've decided to let go. This is me, saying, "I don't forgive you, but I will forget you." I will let go of how you made me feel, and I will stop harboring resentment towards you after I stop writing this letter. Although you guys basically ruined high school for me, I want you to know that I refuse to let you have that power over me anymore.

I'm in college, now. I've met a group of girls who make me feel so wanted, cared for, and loved. These are the girls I should have befriended in high school. Not you. I've been afraid to open myself up to them, but not anymore. You don't get to affect me like that.

So, bullies, I hope you are enjoying college life, and that you have finally grown up. At the end of the day, if you still feel the need to treat people the way you treated me, it is you I feel sorry for.

See you never,
The Girl Who Won't Be A Victim Anymore