I thought being bullied by girls I used to consider friends was bad. They completely alienated me and ignored me after years of attending dances together, talking about our fears and insecurities and our dreams, and just enjoying the company of one another. One day, without explanation, all of this stopped. When I went to the guidance counselor to discuss this with her, she told me, "If you weren't so weird, you wouldn't be bullied." I decided then and there that I was going to be me no matter who it put off because life's too short to be normal.
Linda M. Crate's works have been published in numerous anthologies and magazines both online and in print. Find Linda on Twitter @thysilverdoe and on Instagram @authorlindamcrate.