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She stood there viewing the world through her hazel brown eyes. Some people call those eyes enchanting and ethereal, while she only thinks of them as imperfect and battered. She’s seen how a handful of girls turned her world upside down. She’s seen hatred, dishonesty, and humiliation. Those girls might have thought that they were powerful and untouchable, but little did they know. Their constant harassment sculpted a trooper – A trooper who not only learned how to overcome adversity, but also gained enormously from what those girls threw at her daily. She gained self-confidence. She gained strength. Most importantly, she gained achievement.
Everyday was a nightmare for her. When the clock struck 7:30am, she’d wake up with a feeling of insecurity. As she brushed her teeth, wore her uniform, and braided her hair, she thought of all the things she’d have to go through in school that day. It was 8:30am, and the sounding of the school bell meant it was time for assembly. She would make her way in a file, ready for inspection. She loved her prefect, the girl was warm and friendly towards her – that was the one thing she lacked in school otherwise. When she would return to her classroom, she’d see her backpack open. All her notebooks would be torn and tattered on the floor, her pencil case would be missing. She thought the same thing everyday, “When will they stop? When will they have enough of this charade?”
Quietly she’d pick up her books and try to straighten them out. When it was time for lunch, she’d go to the school fire steps and eat alone. She never had anyone who would stand up for her. While eating, the girls would arrive. They’d snatch her lunch box and throw it away. They’d attract a crowd of students and tell them how she was “worthless and unwanted.” The crowd would laugh. They’d leave her, feeling triumphant. Words have an effect on people. They mess with the mind and make people feel horrible about themselves.
She knew that it was something she couldn’t escape until she graduated high school. She was starting to make peace with that. The year went by extremely slowly for her. She went on to 10th grade. Her life changed. She made new friends, she learned how to stand-up for herself, and she learned how to be courageous.
Today she is a year away from graduating college. She is happy, smart, and always had it in her. Cursing at people and taunting them doesn’t really expand one’s vocabulary, it only diminishes the constructive energy. She used all her pent-up emotions towards creativity. Where are the bullies now? Are they still stuck in 2012, trying to one-up others by being a bigot? Or have they finally realized that they were wasting their lives away by making horrible decisions? That’s something she’ll never know.
But then again, that’s something that doesn’t even concern her any longer. Those girls left a mark in her life. It’s never going to completely erase, but it’ll fade over the course of time. It has already started to.