Breaths heavy. Head pounding. Thoughts foggy. Yet, one thought is crystal clear. “Why me? What have I done so wrong?” That is all I could think about. Who gave these people who know nothing about me but my name, the authority to judge me? It’s not easy, being different. Every since second grade I have been referred to as: ugly, fat, stupid, and annoying. At one point I was even told that my life was worthless, and that no one would every love me. I was told to go kill myself many of times.

People say things without caring how it will affect the person its being said too. They judge you as if you are a convict on trial in front on 12 jury members. They talk, and it hurts!
In the 7th grade, I began getting ill. A trip to the doctor confirmed my worst fears. With my heart fluttering like hummingbirds wings, I received the bad news. “Mr. and Mrs. Frazier. Your daughter has loss too much blood.” Reported my ob-gyn.” I’m sorry to tell you this, but she is now anemic. Due to amount of blood she loss, if she were to lose anymore she would need to get a blood transfusion. It’s either that or she will die from blood loss and not having enough iron in her body.” She continued. “To prevent this from happening, we are going to put her on prescribed birth control pills. Also we will be putting her on iron supplement pills. It is essential that she takes these every day. On our next visit I will be able to tell you if she has progressed anymore and when she can stop taking the medicine.”My heart dropped into my stomach. That little piece of information sent my world crumbling to the ground like a sand castle just as the waves reach the shore.

Can you picture receiving such news? Then, going to school the next day, only to hear ‘ugh, the fat b*** is here. Already feeling sorry for myself, this comment did not make me feel any better about myself. Hearing that I was knocking on deaths doorstep, the being greeted by these people who had nothing better to do with their time than making me feel bad about myself? It was not the best feeling in the world, I can assure you. That was also the very first time that I decided to stand up for myself against my tormentors. Later that day, as I was walking down the middle stairwell, I was confronted by two of the bullies. Due to the fact that I was on the second floor and they were on the third, I had to look up to them to speak. ‘I should just spit on her’ the one girl said, and that’s when I got pissed. Now, I admit, I could have handled the situation in a different matter. However, at that moment, all I saw was red. After the incident, I realized that people like that-those who live to torment others- will not stop unless you stand up for yourself. When I finally grew a backbone, my life got so much easier, and I became much happier.
Also, it brung me to an epiphany- Life is too short to let the actions of others control my life. That was the day I came up with my new life motto.” The best revenge on others is my personal success. Since then, I am more confident, happy and successful. My grades have gotten better, and I am finally seeing a clear future for myself. It’s like looking into a crystal ball, which at one point was foggy. I realized that when I began believing in myself, others also began believing in me too. I am going somewhere in life, and I refuse to let anything stand in my way! I am a brand new me, a BETTER me.

As a child of such a young a young age, I didn’t fully understand what was happening. I believe that I may have been in denial. I didn’t want to believe that I was different, weird in their eyes. At some point, I believe I may have even drifted off into a dream land where everything could be better. Unfortunately, eventually we must all face the brutal truth that is called life. No matter how much we try and pretend that we are perfect, we are not. And somewhere in the world, someone you meet is going to realize that. And yes, they will judge. Though we feel as if they have no right to do so, everyone is entitled to their own opinions. Whether we like it or not, it’s a fact of life that we could not change. In all actuality, we have two choices: we can let the things that others say about us effect our life, or we can just climb that stairway to success, using their insolence as motivation to do all the things that they try to convince us that we are not capable of.