When they called me worthless...
I grasped my purpose.
When they called me stupid...
I discovered my intellect.
When they called me weird...
I learned "normal" didn't exist.
When they called me ugly...
I found beauty within myself.
I realized the things they called me weren't true
When I finally stopped believing them.
And I refused to ever let anyone's opinion of me
Hold up as fact in my mind ever again.
And that helped mold the stronger person I am today.
You know who you are, don't ever let anyone try to tell you differently.
It took me years until I could reflect this way. And I no longer feel bad for myself, but for them; For not having the human decency to not prowl on those who seem smaller than them and not possessing the empathy to understand that what they said was hurtful. I can only hope they've grown stronger too since high school.