Throughout all of middle school and the beginning of high school i was bullied. Everyday people would threaten my life and tell me how worthless i was and how nobody liked me. They called me names and damaged my personal belongings. Because i was gay, i was a target. It got so bad that i resorted to cutting. I tried to kill myself six times. I tried standing up for myself, and it made things worse. I told teachers and most of them told me it was just part of growing up, others would express sympathy but never did anything to try and help me. i was alone. Yet something in the back of my mind kept telling me, 'don't give up, everything will get better in time' and as i grew older, i began to listen to that voice, and it was right. I realized that the people who were treating me like dirt would, in the end, learn their lesson. I realized that no matter what they said or did to me, i was still me, a good person and that their words could only hurt me if i believed them. After a while i stopped believing them. In hindsight, i'm glad i didn't die. I know i have something to contribute to the world, no matter how small. I matter. To those that are being bullied, i know it's hard, and i know that sometimes you feel alone, feel like escaping. Feel worthless, feel like a waste of space, like you don't matter. But you do matter, things may be hard now, but fight through them, take solace in knowing that you are still you. Life may seem unfair now, but everything will get better i promise. Reach out to people, friends, family anybody that you can talk to because it really does help if you can communicate.