I am 4 and starting Elementary,

I am the bullied
the one that is found alone
Found buried
underneath the playground full of bones.

I am 12 and beginning my new self in high school,

I am the honors student
the one looked up to
Now I feel non-excluded,
I feel like I can conquer the world.
Acing every test,
acing every task.
Realizing now: “I don’t have to wear a mask.”
I be myself and let no others judge me.

But I feel betrayed,
by my first love at the age of grades.
But all I can do is move on,
and feel heart-ached as I stay up thinking until the brink of dawn.

I am 18 and beginning college

I am the one realizing:
“that being bullied is a gift,
a gift to become stronger”
It’s made me to who I am today, working that late night shift,
To pay for college, To no longer
be: that “dog” or that “teacher’s pet”
who would be “no more than a beggar”.

And now I have all the support I can ever want:
from the friends,
from the younger cousins,
from the ones who were always there.
Now I tell you, to be grateful for your good experiences
and to be more grateful for those who said “You won’t be anything”
Because those were the people who gave me the strength
To become the person who always cared,
to become that dreamer and repair,
those damaged dreams for any kid
And say thank you to the bullies and the support that were always there.