My name is Amanda, although I like to be called "Peaches" (it's been that way since 7th grade). I have PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder--Not Otherwise Specified), a high-functioning form of autism. I've been bullied since I first entered school. Kids wouldn't make friends with me, all because of my autism. But the worst was yet to come. One day, my 5th grade class had a fire drill, and we all had to stand in line outside. I was at the way front of it, and I accidentally touched a kid's arm. (Or was it hand? I'm not sure now.) He started screaming, "Ew! Amanda germs! Eww!" and rubbed his arm on another kid, who rubbed it on another kid, and so on. This went on for a while before the teacher had to round the whole class up. Eventually they apologized to me, and the year went on smoothly. But in the early months of middle school, it got worse. Kids avoided me yet again, all because I acted weird and...well, like ME. I soon developed the theory that kids only care about 3 things: friends, Facebook (or Twitter, or Instagram, or Snapchat, or whatever), and the opposite gender, which in my mind was true. But then, near the end of 7th grade, I had to move. And kids took pictures of me with their school laptops. It was nice to know that they cared enough about me to take pictures. Now, fast forward to 8th grade. I made a new friend: Katherine (or Katy for short), who has Asperger's (some of you might know what it is, others may not). She taught me how to be tough and aggressive. I also made a few more friends along the way. Now, I'm a sophomore in high school, and my freshman year hasn't been going well. Hopefully this year can be better. We also have an RSVP club at our school, but I don't think they make that big a difference. Hopefully I can stand up for myself--well, at least have the courage to do so--and tell everyone the truth about the REAL me. Because there's more to me than the acne-ridden face I have, the wrong-looking clothes I wear, my weird--looking actions I perform...I'm funny, random, full of ideas, and just all-around amazing!