This article is dedicated to my little sister, Kamryn Tate, as she goes into her third week of sixth grade in middle school. I hope that she knows these five things, these three years are amazing, and she does not have to go through the things I did.

Middle school sucked for me, I transitioned from a predominantly white elementary school where I was accepted for who I was, to a predominantly black middle school that made fun of me for "talking like a white girl" or being smart. I remember coming home crying to my mother about how I wanted to transfer to a new school, and how I just wanted to be home-schooled. Although I stayed at that school all three years, it made me stronger. However, if I would've known these five things, my transition and experience would have went much smoother.

5. Just because every other girl has a boyfriend, and you do not, does not mean you are not beautiful.

All my friends had boyfriends and talked about how they had their first kiss. I used to be jealous and sad that I did not have a boyfriend and that maybe guys did not like me. I used to think I was unattractive and I would cry hearing the comments that boys said about me behind my back. I wish I had known that I was still beautiful, so I could stop trying to excessively change my appearance to make a boy like me.

Now I laugh about it, because the boys that used to make fun of me are the same boys who constantly message me on Facebook apologizing for what they said, hoping I would give them another chance. Once I get those messages and phone calls, the "block this caller" button becomes my best friend.

4. Be yourself.

"You sound like a white girl," was something said by numerous girls daily to me. It was their way of making fun of the way I speak properly. I will never forget when a girl told me, "You need to have some black in your voice." So I remember trying to talk like they did in class, and it just never worked. I ended up getting made fun of for trying to be something that I was not.

It took for me to turn 16 to be satisfied with just being myself.

It has been six years that I have seen a lot of those girls, and many of them have apologized to me for their actions towards me. Many of them are married now, have three or four kids, and chose to not make anything of their lives. So I guess being myself was the best decision of my life, because I have become a much better person than what they thought I would be.

3. You are Important.

I remember sitting in class and a girl was waving to someone on my side of the room. We made eye contact, so I thought she was waving at me and I waved back at her. She said across the room, "No, no, no, you are not important to me, I'm obviously waving at her." The next week she got upset with me and threw a pair of shorts at my face.

In those two experiences, I honestly felt like I was just another person in the room, and I that I had no identity. No one spoke to me, and the only time I felt like someone knew me was when I was the lead soloist in my school's choir. I was broken, and I just did not know what to do about it.

I am now a sophomore in college, and I am surrounded by intelligent women who make me feel like I am worth something. I feel important and like I've made a difference in some of my sisters' and brothers' lives, and I thank Spelman and Morehouse College, and Clark Atlanta University for that.

2. Being popular does not matter, because it is all temporary.

I used to always try and fit in with the popular girls in school, and it just did not happen. It would hurt my feelings when they would embarrass me in front of the entire school, especially in the lunch line, in class or even at the bus stop. There was not a week where tears did not flow down my face.

When I went into my second week of high school, I did not even remember half of their names because high school was a much better experience for me. So every time someone had asked me if I remembered someone, I did not, because middle school was so temporary.

1. There is a light at the end of this long, dark tunnel.

I remember listening to "Third Day," a contemporary Christian group, and one of my favorite songs by them that used to bring me to tears every time was entitled "Tunnel." When I heard that song, I immediately would think about how one day I would be successful, and that all of this that I am going through will soon pass. But even though this song reminded me I was going to be fine, it was still hard to remember that every time I was being made fun of or embarrassed for just being myself.

Now I am on the other side of the tunnel, and, looking back, I wonder why I was even worried. Because the entire time, God has had his arms wrapped around me, and he promised me everything was going to be just fine. I'm glad I trusted him, because I am now living my dreams and I am closer and closer to success. I can gladly say I am the living proof that middle school will be only a speed bump in your road to success.