For some of us, growing up was hell, let's all face it. If your childhood was good and fun then that is great for you, but not everyone has had those advantages.

Some of us grew up around negative parents and negative people at school who 'til this day I do not know why they bullied some of us. It just never made sense. This sometimes affects us in the long run.

Some parents just never understand anything about psychology or their children. They don't understand that what they do or say really takes a hold out of the child. It's just because even if the kid does not want to think about it, it still may come back to haunt them when they are older. Just imagine, your mom or dad telling you how ugly, skinny, or fat you are. Some test your intelligence and are so strict, putting so much pressure on you to work hard. If you get anything less than an A then you're grounded and you get yelled at. I know that at the end, grades help but some parents just like to bring their kids down and will never be proud, even if you won a Grammy or became the president. It sucks.

Then there are other students who feel different or stand out around the others. Some don't think that is "cool," or some think you are just "unpopular." So they either feel threatened, are just complete jerks, or who knows why. That leads them to picking on you and saying the worse things they could say to emotionally scare you, maybe even sometimes get physical. Back then, teachers never really realized how big of a problem that was so it was hard to get help. Some kids just hid, ditched class or cried their eyes out because they had no power, no say in anything. How devastating having people treat you like crap and you not being able to do anything about it.

So anyways to those friends of mine who have gone through something like this, I beg you to listen. Listen to your heart, not your brain. Realize that your past does not define you. It never will define you. So your mom was not there for you, so she never gave you advice, so she never acted like your best friend. So you were never daddy's little girl, so he worked and never had time to talk to you, so he was harsh on you for when you got low grades. As harsh as this sounds I have realized that so what? I know that at that moment it hurt you dearly, you were in pain and you still have scary memories about the physical and emotional abuse you have ever encountered, but just know that this will never define you, it will never mean that you will be the same. It will never mean that you will never be good enough. It does not mean that your earlier life sucked, or that things will never get better. Just remember that you can still change, change for yourself and no one else. Whatever that bully told you in high school, forget about it, they are not doing any better now. For those girls who gossiped about you, don't worry about them, they were insecure about themselves. Just try to forget about every hurtful word because you were never weird, gross, ugly, nerdy, dumb or fat. And you will never be. Stop hating yourself for your past. Love yourself for the future.