I only remember one time... Two kids didn't appreciate my lack of fashion in middle school. Trust me, I didn't either - never did wear any clothes that I picked myself. I wore hand me downs and stuff from the 80s from China I'm sure.

They decided to try and beat me up after PE or school. They seemed angry with my clothes, and the way I looked. They thought I was a huge nerd, with slanted eyes, and a teacher's pet because I got good grades, placed in the school spelling bee, and played chess during recess with my teacher.

They waited for the rest of the kids to leave. Then singled me out and tried to wrestle me to the ground. I easily tossed them aside though, because what they didn't know was that I spent my weekends doing 'physical labor' and could have easily made the football team with my physical strength and speed. Still it hurt, knowing that some classmates felt that way. Heck, I knew I wasn't a 'cool' kid - I didn't even watch TV through high school.

That was the only time someone ever physically tried to pick on me. And in case you're wondering, no I didn't fight back, just threw him off me and walked away. I think they were confused at how it went.

Luckily, I was never directly picked on again in school - by classmates or upperclassmen. In fact, I sometimes wished they'd put a hand on me so that it'd be payback time for the times upper classmen picked on my classmates. I actually was one of those rare kids that enjoyed school. I never missed a day since I moved to that school district. By the end of my high school career, I was admired, respected, and as well placed in social circles as much as anybody could for having never hung out with anyone in school.

However, can you imagine what would have happened if I was not one of those kids that liked school? Recent history has shown what bullied kids, with guns, end up doing to their bullys and classmates and themselves. That's not the way to solve this for anybody.

To anybody that does get bullied, remember that you're not alone. Speak up. You have friends, family, and even strangers that got your back. And even when you think you have nobody but yourself, know you are stronger than you think. You will survive. You must survive.