Dear Friends,

I was bullied for not being fast enough in track. They said I wasn’t fast enough, I never won any races, I shouldn’t be on the team, and I was dragging down the team. My friend had heard some “popular” (you probably know what I mean) girl say these things. She didn’t know exactly who they were. It hurt and made me want to quite the team. I knew I wasn’t very fast, and I knew I had never won a race. But I joined track to get better at running, not to win. I cried for longer than I’ve ever cried before. I kept going to track practice, and meets. I couldn’t help but wonder who said it. I worked harder than I’d ever worked to prove to them that I was good enough. To this day I don’t know who it was. But that motivated me. It made me work harder, be stronger, to be faster, and to just be myself. NEVER GIVE IN! The bullies just want you to give up and quite. Prove to them that you are stronger than that. Also they probably bullied you because they are jealous, scared, having family problems, being bullied themselves, or they might just be down right mean. Who knows? I know how it feels. Please talk to your friends. My friends got me through this. Without them I wouldn’t be who I am today.

Sincerely,

A Friend