As an elementary school student, you probably imagined your middle school years as being a whole different ballgame. Being in a posse, walking around the halls with your friends glued to your side, and everyone parting like the Red Sea when you turned the corner. Once you got there, you realized that everything changed, and not for the better.
Being bullied is one of the scariest feelings anyone can have. Drowning in fear when you get on the bus, knees shaking as you walk through the seemingly very heavy doors, your palms sweating when you start writing your name on your Social Studies paper. You go to your locker and try not to make eye contact with the boy next to you. In your head, you say, "Please don't see me. Please just grab your notebook and leave," but that isn't how it goes. He looks at you, calls you "Earthquake," mocking you and making you the equivalent of a sumo wrestler, shaking objects off the shelves every time you walk before he walks away. Hiding in the bathroom until the end of the school day never seemed so appealing.
The day you have always dreaded finally arrives. You run out of clothing that hides all of the rolls on your stomach and the only shirt that is left is a T-shirt that is a little tighter than you would like. Putting on a shirt for school has come to be one of the most dreadful things you could ever imagine. You knew that as soon as you got to school, you would be given hell––and you were correct. Your English teacher decides to put you into groups, which is one of the most horrifying things a teacher could do besides a presentation. Your footsteps feel so heavy walking over to your assigned group and you sit down across from one of the "popular" boys. He takes one look at you and says, "You should've just worn one of your dirty shirts in your hamper. You look like a Twinkie stuffed in your jeans." You just look down and try to ignore the tears welling up in your eyes––but then you realize how good a Twinkie sounds...
High school completely changed your aspect on life. Of course you're worried, but you have started doing color guard and you have made so many new friends. You are finally confident in your appearance and you can finally wear skinny jeans and shirts that somewhat hug your curves. You actually start talking to people in your classes, and in doing so, you find the love of your life. You do incredibly well in school, you get into college and you can see your life going somewhere fantastic. I know it sounds cliché, but it really does get better. Being bullied makes you stronger. Yes, it breaks you down at the time, but in the future, you look back on the hardest time you have gone through and you think to yourself, "Wow, for being a youngster, I was quite a trooper."
Do me a favor. Go look in the mirror. Yeah, I know, it's hard to put down the phone/laptop for a minute, but go do it. Now, find your biggest "imperfection" that you think makes you the "ugliest." Instead of trying to hide it, embrace it. Embrace your braces, your freckles, your tummy, your hair that doesn't seem to lie flat. Those features may be the thing you think is the ugliest, but who knows? Someone sitting next to you in German class may think it's the most beautiful.
