I’ve been writing this on and off for years now. Wanting to share it, face it, come to myself with it. If you want my story, you won’t find it here. Cause that’s not why I’m here and that’s not my goal in writing this. I'm not here to cry for help, or to raise my hand and say I'm a victim. My goal is to hopefully help the next one, see it instead of run away from it, understand your actions and be aware of what’s happening around you. And if all else fails, show you how to overcome it, cause that's where YOU begin to build. (read till the end.)
Society is constantly looking for a way to categorize us, define us, judge us. What happened to getting to know someone? Most people have already made their opinion prior to meeting you and deciding for themselves. Social media takes part in some of that pre-judgement, I’m not even going to lie to you. Yes I love me some Instagram (obviously)... it’s my job and I love the creativity I get to express with it. But it makes it so easy to judge people we have actually NEVER laid our own 2 eyes on in person. How many of you have taken a post and sent it in your group chat to mock/make fun of a photo that was posted? I'm sure 99% of you have.
I'm also not here to tell you I'm innocent, cause I'm not. I've prejudged several times, by stories I’ve heard, pictures I've seen, we all just naturally judge... & it needs to stop. It’s not healthy for us, those around us, or those looking up to you. You never TRULY know what someone may be going through.
I hate to tell you younger peeps, bullying doesn’t stop as you get older, you just simply learn how to better handle it within yourself. Dealing with hate is never an easy concept to understand or make sense of.
If I could go back in time, I wouldn't remove the bullies in my life. Yeah of course it sucked, & it hurt.. a lot. But they molded me into the weird & crazy human I am today (& YES I am proud to say that). Turning pain into power was the best decision I've made. Has any true leader or successful person had it easy? Hell no. You have to jump through obstacles, climb ladders upside down, all while being blind-folded to even have a chance at success in todays world. I love it. I thrive on it, & you should too. Be the person who is so confident in themself and their goals, that you don't even take a second to hear what the haters are saying. Cause I guarantee 5 years down the road, you'll be 100 steps ahead of them. If it weren't for my past, I wouldn't be the strong woman running my own business at 23 years old, sharing my life on social media for thousands of people to see everyday, even something as small as this one blog post takes courage. So to that, the 15 year old Amber thanks you.
My words of wisdom to you is to turn pain into power. Do NOT turn away, act like it's not there, or feel sorry for yourself. Instead turn the hate into love. Learn to love yourself first. Once you convince yourself that you know who you are and what you stand for, everyone else's opinion has zero meaning. Oh, and whoever your bully may be, love them too... cause most of the time, that’s all they’re really looking for.
Spread love y'all, not hate.
XOXO - STRONG Amber
P.S. If you have something you'd like to talk about/share with me. Shoot me an email on my contact page, or a DM on instagram :)