I know, everyone's different. Between the variety of hair colors and eye colors to all the minor quirks that make someone original, no one person is the same. Since elementary school, I was always the odd kid out. I fit in with all the "nerds" and mainly the boys since I was obsessed with Pokémon and Zelda. Elementary school was my prime since everyone basically loved each other and would play with anyone. Innocence is truly bliss. It wasn't until around fourth or fifth grade that things began changing for me; actually, everyone started changing around that time.

From growing breasts to shooting up three feet, everyone was changing. When I turned 10, my body shot up from around 4'11 all the way to 5'5 in the course of two weeks. The drastic changing stretched my ligaments and muscles all over, but what I couldn't see was how badly my body was being pulled. As this went on and my ligaments stretched, they became very thin and weak. Naturally, your body is able to cope with this and adjust, but something in mine couldn't, thus the ligaments stretched to maximum and ended up breaking down.

You may be thinking, "Damn, couldn't you feel this happening?" Well, it still baffles me to look back and realize how unaware I was that this was occurring. Even after the growing, my body was still unable to recover, especially my knees. From the time between 9 and 13, my knees began dislocating. Left and right, I would fall to the floor in agonizing pain as my kneecap jolted to the side and stiffened up. I couldn't tell you how many times I was in the hospital from elementary to middle school, but what I can tell you is this.

None of this was ever fake.

From all the braces, physical therapy and surgeries I had to put myself through, I still had people telling me that this was all a petty act. When it first happened, no one really knew what was happening. Many children looked after me as I hobbled down the halls on my crutches. Some would give me looks, but I dissed them back because I thought once the cast was off I could go back to being just like one of the normal kids. Boy, was I mistaken. The braces stuck to my legs like glue until freshman year of High School. Multiple back to back dislocations of both my legs put me into this awful position. I was teased harder as the years went on, since the kids at school couldn't understand that what I had was serious and complicated.

In middle school the bullying escalated. I had no problem with staring or mumbling. I normally would walk away from it, but when gym class came around and I was unable to run , everyone joined in on the fun. First, the kids would tease me on the way I ran or the fact that I walked really slow. Yet no one had the courage to ask me why I did such a thing. They didn't get that one wrong twist and I would be in another brace. Besides just that, teachers would also harass me. A prime example of this would be the gym teacher at my middle school. Her name was Mrs. Kors (hello!), and she was one of my worst fears when I was little. Honestly, if she wasn't constantly pushing me to run or comparing me to the children with special needs I wouldn't have a problem with her.

I have knee problems, and they complicate everything.

Trying to explain that to anyone was always a stressful situation. All the kids in my hometown know me as the "weird girl with knee issues." From middle school into high school, the bullying seemed to drop once I got the surgeries. What I had done is known as Patellar Femoral Ligament Reconstruction. This is when they scope around your knee, trimming down cartilage and adding back the ligaments that you have lost. Since I lost ligaments in both my knees, I gained cadavers in both. Cadavers are parts donated from the deceased and then I had to wear these disgusting immobilizers. They're huge braces that stop your leg from bending at all. Let me tell you, one girl, Bella, in my grade did not like me wearing them at all. I remember her telling her friends one day when I passed her in the halls, "She comes to school with a different knee brace every day." Boy was she right! Kind of. I got new braces every couple months once my knees started healing and such. It felt great to drop one of the braces and get a smaller one. Especially since the kids at school could understand that the small braces were braces and not some foreign body attached to my own body.

I will never forget the day that my knees finally healed and I was able to walk without any complications.

It was the end of freshman year summer and the start of sophomore year. I was able to get my life together and work on me. To be honest, now that I'm looking back, I don't care anymore about anything that the bullies said to me. Growing up is hard for anyone, but growing up with an addition problem is even worse. Ignorant people cannot always comprehend differences within people and react negatively. In instances like that, all you can do is ignore and walk away. Don't fall victim to their words, because they're pointless. Love yourself and all of your unique things. It won't be easy but in time I'm positive you'll be able to love ever inch of yourself. I know I did. Once the surgeries and therapy were over and I was able to wake up without a dislocation, my life turned around. So keep your head up and just hold onto hope. Things get better, especially childhood things. After school, you'll have clean slate to create your true self! So make every day count and always end your day with a smile.