I've never been a popular girl. I never even wanted to be. I didn't get in anyone's business or say anything rude to anyone.

And it wasn't just a random person that everyone feared that decided to bully me. It was the person who had been my best friend for years. We had danced together, had endless amounts of sleepovers, and even pulled crazy stupid stunts together.

The first thing she said to me was, "wow, I can't believe you can't fit into my jeans. Maybe you should go on a diet so your thighs thin up a little. You need a thigh gap."

You see, I'm not fat, and I know that now. I'm far from being fat. But hearing that from a friend, from someone I trusted, was HORRIBLE.

The next time she insulted me was at a dance competition. We were performing a duet together, we always did, and I was wishing people luck. I told some of our friends, "oh, I hope you win! That would be amazing."

My friend didn't really like that. After they had left, she said, "they'll do better than us just because you aren't a good dancer. You just slow me down."

That was worse than the first time.

That type of thing continued for a while. She'd insult me and each and every word she said was like a stab to the chest. Some were worse than others.

There was one time that I was in the restroom at school, just doing my business, and she said, "omg, (my name) is such a clown. The only reason I'm inviting her to my party is so we can all laugh at how fat she'll look in her swimsuit."

Ouch.

A few years later I moved and never saw her again. Even now her words still hurt, possibly even more that having a random stranger call me fat or ugly. She was my best friend. How could they not hurt?

Guys and girls, let me tell you something. Don't listen to the bullies. Don't let their words pain you. It's the worst mistake you'll ever make. Stay strong and push through, and know that you are beautiful and amazing and kind and wonderful and a blessing. You are worth it, and you mean the world to me. All of you do.