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The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SBU chapter.

In school, it has always been hard for me to fit in. I was bullied for as long as I can remember. 

I wasn’t considered part of what everyone called the “cool kids”.

The three words the kids in my elementary and middle school described were as were, athletic, pretty and smart.

I remember crying every day when I got home, asking my parents why I wasn’t enough for the kids in my class or in my school. I was always telling them that I didn’t want to go to school or go to practice. Because what was the point in going? Everyone had already made up their mind on who I was as an individual. 

As I began to get older, I learned that everyone is different. Everyone is beautiful, smart and athletic in their own way. 

I moved to a new school, had a fresh start and made new friends. Of course, every school district has the bullies, but I noticed that the people I met and became friends with were the people who would stick by my side. 

In that moment, I decided that I am enough and that I would prove to all the people who bullied me that they were wrong. That I am enough. That I am perfect in my own, unique way. 

So, for that, I started to not care as much about what other people thought of me. I went to school and excelled in all my classes like I had always done. I made high honor roll or honor roll and graduated high school with thirty college credits. And I went to a college that has, so far, truly felt like home. I continued to make friends with people that love me for who I am. 

With sports, I was told that I would never go anywhere with it. Softball was, and still is, my passion. There was a handful of people who said that I “sucked” and that I should just give up.

Well, I continued playing the sports that I loved in my youth years all the way up through now. I even joined a travel softball team to continue bettering myself. No, not for others, but for myself. I wanted to prove to myself that I was, and still am, good enough for sports. I mean, is it a bonus to prove them wrong? Yes but that isn’t what it’s all about. 

So, if there is one thing I’ve learned from being bullied for a big chunk of life it is that if you put your mind to something, don’t let others try to talk you out of i or put you down. 

Always remember, and I mean ALWAYS, that you ARE pretty, you ARE smart and you ARE athletic. YOU ARE YOU AND THAT IS BEAUTIFUL ALL AROUND. 

Jordan Swift is a new Her Campus at SBU chapter member. She plans on writing about current trends, different events that have happened in her life, movies that she likes to watch, and how they relate to her life. Jordan is excited to get to know all her fellow Her Campus sisters. She can't wait to read all the creative writings that her chapter of Her Campus has to share with others in the world. Jordan can be described as a junior at St. Bonaventure and is currently in the 3+2 program, with her undergraduate major being Public Health with an Occupational Therapy concentration. She has hopes of becoming an Occupational Therapist for adolescents in a school district. She has shadowed several different Occupational Therapists and has grown to love the profession. When Jordan has free time, she looks forward to spending time with her family and friends, going on hikes, listening to music, watching movies, such as "Matilda" and "Hocus Pocus", and going on different spontaneous trips. She enjoys volunteering at local SPCAs, as well as volunteering at food banks.