I have been out of High School for a few years now but I still remember everything like it was yesterday. I am a gay female and ever since elementary school I knew I was different. I didn't dress in girly clothes and I didn't do girly things. I was always treated by my classmates like something was wrong with me, like I had some virus that everyone could catch. By the time I was in middle school things got worse. I would have things thrown at me, I would be pushed in the hallway, and know one would ever do anything about it. Bullying should not be looked at as a regular part of a child growing up. The whole "kids will be kids" saying is getting really old. If it was not for my loving family I might not have made it. During my junior year of high school the isolation and anger got so bad that I stopped going to school. I ended up finding a different kind of high school for kids in my position and if it was not for that school I would have never graduated from high school. The whole experience has left me with terrible social anxiety and panic attacks, but as much as I wanted to give up I never did and that is the one thing I want a bullied child to take away from my story. DON'T EVER GIVE UP!