Stupid, Fatso, Blubber butt, garbage dump – they're more than jokes, they became my identity. Uptight, overachiever, kiss ass, Drama queen - I got called those names so often I didn’t know what else to be.

   Ten year's later, I still live with feeling like an outcast. Even with a great job, talent in my field, a social life and lessons under my belt, I can't shake the feeling of self-loathing because I must have deserved to be teased and tortured and hated. 

     I still fight to remember the abuse wasn't all in my head - that it was real. One teacher, a very special woman, reached out to me and watched over the little girl me. She might be the reasons I’m still alive today. 

   Teachers: you can save a life. Reach out to a student in trouble; even if you just ask how their day was when you don’t have to. Kids: It gets better. We're all here to help.