Growing up in elementary school, I was often bullied. I had a severe speech impediment that a lot of kids felt the need to poke fun of. I was often the butt of jokes, kids would often mimic me, children wouldn’t even talk to me, and it often led to countless bus rides home crying. My speech impediment was severe. I had trouble pronouncing my ‘S’s,’ “R’s,’ and ‘SH’s.’ Because of this, I didn’t talk much to kids my age and was busy attending speech lessons all the way up until about fourth grade.

I’m not here to complain, rather, I would like to thank my bullies. I spent the first years of my education living in fear and hated going to school, often acting sick so I wouldn’t have to attend. I learned the value of emotion and how it felt in that position. I would like to think that because of my past, I am the person I am today. I don’t judge. I am patient. I am understanding.

Thank you to my bullies. Thank you for teasing me and taunting how I speak. I am thankful that I am fortunate enough to be able to talk. Though I had an impediment, I can at least say that I am able to talk. Through countless years and lessons, I am grateful to have the opportunity to say that I can talk perfectly now. Through the frustration of overcoming the bullies and my own deflated self-esteem, I overcame. I accomplished and I persevered. I overcame what I tried so hard to get over.

I may have persevered and I may have fixed my impediment, but the impact of being bullied still influences me today. So, thank you to my bullies. Because of you, I am still self-conscious on how I speak. I often find myself observing in conversations rather than speaking. I talk when I need to and often find myself biting my tongue (which can be beneficial in certain circumstances). These bullies caused utter turmoil to me. They hurt me so deeply that I will always have a place burned into the back of my mind with those memories.

“Talk to us when you talk like the rest of us,” “We don’t want to talk to the girl who can’t even pronounce our name” These were two basic things I would hear on the daily, not even the worst. Thank you to my bullies, because without all of you I wouldn’t be the girl who went out of her way to learn everyone’s name. To make sure that they belong. Thank you for helping me build and for teaching me that I should think before I speak.

Will what I say influence someone in a negative way? Will it cause unnecessary tears or heartbreak to someone? If I were to know that I would cause someone as much heartbreak as someone did to me, I would not be able to live with myself knowing that I put someone in the same position that I was a part of.

So, thank you to my bullies because without you, I don’t know if I would be understanding, compassionate, and kind. Without those memories of endless crying and being bullied, I would not be able to say that I am where I am.