Dear Bullies,

When I was younger, your words cut like knives. All I wanted was to never hear your hurtful words again. I'm sure that if you heard my name, you wouldn't even know how much you affected my life, you might not even know who I am. Now all I want to do is tell you thank you.

Thank you for reminding me who I am.

I am strong and I didn't give up, even when I wanted to. I saw you everyday and knew what was coming. I stood tall and kept my mind on what was important; your hurtful words were not what was important. I stayed strong in my faith, in my relationships, and in my school work. I went on several retreats to grow in my faith. I remembered how to treat the people around me with respect. I put together a retreat for elementary school children to talk about bullying and how it affects everyone, even the bully. I graduated and went to college. I remembered who I needed to be, so I want to thank you for that.

Thank you for teaching me to respect myself.

I try to remember that those things you said to be were not true. 12-year-old me thought differently, but now I know the truth. I must remember that there was no truth to your words; they were meaningless. I have since learned to respect myself and the ones around me. I grew up, and now I know what your words meant - nothing. I hope that the others you bullied understand this. I would hate to think that they thought what you said was true.

I hope you read this.

Thank you for everything. I hope that you are doing okay, and have learned that your words have positively affected me. I am not justifying what you did, but it helped me grow better as a person. At the time, I would have never said thank you. I wouldn't have even said that I forgave you; but I forgive you now. I hope that you are doing okay.

Thank you,

The bullied girl