My name is Gerald Ramirez. I am 20 years old and it's only been 2 years that I accept I am worth it. Since I was younger I have always been the outcast. In elementary school the people I called friends would shun me cause I was weird. I would be told numerous times by people why couldn't I be normal. For years I believed it. I could never get away from bullying. At home my family wasn't able to see the world the way I see it so we would argue and I was told things that no child should ever hear. In high school it all just built up and I broke down. I was not able to walk into certain classes without just being called a freak. I was bullied in spanish just because I was different. I made some friends who when people bullied me they would just tell me the meanest things. For a long time I believed it. I told myself I was worthless, that I was nothing to no one and that I was better of gone. I started to self-harm for a couple of years, I became numb to so many things that harming myself was the only thing that made me feel like I was not a hollow shell, but in fact a person. It all changed though. This amazing man, this amazing teacher he helped me out, he changed my life. I heard stories of how teachers never helped so I never asked for help, even when he was my teacher and got bullied in his class I just sat quiet and took it all. He turned that all around though. He told me to be myself, he told me that who I am was what made me worth it. He made me believe in myself when I needed it the most. Maybe some teachers do look the other way but I'm glad he didn't because if he did I don't know where I would be today. I can never thank him enough for what he did. He told me to stand against my bullies not with hate but with confidence, and that's what I did, that's what I still do. It's the hardest lesson to learn when you're whole life you're made feel like you're not worth it, but trust me you are. We all are. And we should all be around to spread that message. We are worth it and we are all equal.