“Wow! What a loser she doesn’t have any friends that sucks I’m glad I’m not like her,” someone called out about me. Being called a loser and saying I have no friends is nothing new to me but right now when I know it’s true it really hurts. I’ve been getting bullied and not having anyone to go to to hear me talk about my problems and someone that I trust is hard. I have started to believe them when they say I’m a loser or that I have no friends or that no one will like me after hearing it for a while maybe somewhere along the way you begin to believe it yourself. From being bullied and not having anyone to go to about it I learned that what people say about you isn’t true and you’re the only person who will know for sure if it is or isn’t. Your opinion about yourself is the only one that matters.

“Hey,” I called out to my best friend as I'm sprinting to snag her before she disappears into the crowd of people swamping into the class but when I finally caught up to her she completely brushed me off like I was a stranger. What did I do? I thought to myself as I walked alone to class. I felt like all of my friends hated me and people calling me names weren’t helping at all. I was alone: I didn’t have anyone to walk through the crowded hallways with or to sit by at lunch. I would always hear people say she’s a freak or why doesn’t she have any friends. Whenever I tried to talk to my best friend she wouldn’t even notice me and I didn’t know what to do. When she would talk to other people but ignore me I knew then it was something that I had done to her. Every time I would try to talk to her she wouldn’t answer. I missed my best friend, she was always there for me when I needed someone to talk to about anything I trusted her with my deepest and darkest secrets and now she wouldn’t even look my way. The bullying that was going on just kept getting worse and worse but there was no one that I trusted enough to tell about it so I just let it go on. I would be called stupid, ugly, and a loser a lot of the time. I still didn’t want to tell anyone because then people might just start calling me an attention seeker; I don’t want more people to hate me. This time in my life was a really low place and I didn’t know if it would ever stop. 

A few days after I still didn’t have anyone. As I was walking into lunch and saw that all my friends were eating together and laughing over the booming sound of the rest of the kids inside the cafeteria. I walked over to where my friends were and sat down everyone got so quiet you could hear a pin drop. My friends all looked at me waiting for me to say something then someone yelled “Why are you even here?” Why was I there I knew that they didn’t want me to be around. I left and ran into the bathroom alone. Then someone walked in when they saw me they just laughed with their friends. I didn’t know what I did that was so horrible. I felt like I didn’t belong anywhere - no one will ever want to be my friend again. I wouldn’t ever have anyone to make me laugh or to be completely weird with but still have the best time in the world. I was really terrified that it might happen. I knew that everyone I used to talk to all the time wouldn’t talk to me so why would they care if I was alone crying. I didn’t think that I will ever be the same again.

Just before I got up to leave the bathroom my best friend comes in and sees me. My eyes are red and puffy from crying and she does something I never would have thought she would, she gave me a hug. I was very confused because she hadn’t been talking to me and then she hugs me?

“Why are you hugging me?” I questioned.

“Because I’ve been a horrible friend to you… and I’m so sorry I shouldn’t have ever left you alone or ignored you. I’ve been hearing what people called you and it’s not okay for them to do that. Why haven’t you told anyone?” she asked.

“I didn’t have anyone I trusted enough to talk about it. Your one of the only people I would have told.”

“I’m sorry Gabby. I’ve been the worst best friend ever I didn’t even try to talk to you or anything.”

“It’s okay. I understand I hope that we are still friends.”

“Of course we are.” We hugged for a minute then we walked into lunch together. I could feel my other friends looking at us when we sat down together and the table got quiet like it did when I first showed up. I didn’t know if I should leave then everyone starts talking like normal and I realized that what people say about you isn’t true and you’re the only person who will know for sure if it is or isn’t.

What I learned from being bullied and not having any friends is that what people say about you shouldn’t effect you and no matter what they say as long as you believe and like yourself then nothing should hurt you. The only person who will know if you're telling the truth about something is you but sometimes other people will say things that are rude and they don’t matter as long as you know they are not true. Your opinion about yourself is the only one that should matter.