I grew up in a small town, the schools were small, the town had no stoplights, and everyone knew everyone. I had grown up with the people I went to school with. We all knew each other’s weaknesses and strengths. The struggle with growing up with everyone from school was you grew tired of the routine everyone was in.

I was never very popular in school. I was the girl who was picked on because I was smaller than everyone else, because I was different. There was a specific group of girls who loved to build me up and tear me down. I always thought that maybe if I dressed differently or talked differently that they would like me, but that was never the case. I was constantly made fun of and treated like I was lesser. These girls made me feel as though I was worthless. I believed I was never enough because they made me feel as though I was never enough. Grade school was rough to say the least.

As I’ve moved on from that town and those people, it really opened my eyes. Their cruel words and actions have given me a new point of view in life. I am a beautiful and strong person. What they said has made me a different person. I know who I am and what they said does not define me. They are like the town I grew up in, small. I will rise and show them that their words do not define me.