Trying to fit in is a very difficult task to face. There are these emotions that consume your body and these doubts that overwhelm your thoughts. Some days you feel like a nobody, some days you feel like a somebody; is that how we’re all supposed to feel?

There are days where I feel like I don’t fit in when I walk these halls in this high school. Sometimes I feel like I’m being targeted or observed like I’m an animal in the wild. I remember roaming the halls back in middle school like I owned the place; then again, I was friends with the so-called “popular girls”. These girls were tall, skinny, pretty blue-eyed and blonde models, and flawless, at least in my eyes. One day, one of the girls walked up to me; she told me I was ugly. She said, “If you want to be a part of us still, you need to do what we tell you to do. Otherwise you won’t be one of us anymore.” She then gave me this nasty look and puckered up her lips like she was the boss. I did what she told me to do, and that was the worse decision of my life. From the sixth grade until my freshman year, I struggled with my health and depression because of those girls. The pressure from these girls overwhelmed me, my attitude changed from that innocent and sweet child my parents raised, to a rebellious and selfish stranger. I never got the medical attention I needed, I was too afraid to confront my condition to anyone even though they could see it with how my body image changed through time. I would always use the excuse, “I've just been exercising”. Obviously, that was a pretty dumb excuse, but at the time, it was better to isolate my feelings.

Being pressured into something that’s dangerous by your peers is something that no one should be involved in. Like me, it could lead to depression and anorexia and more; so what’s the good in trying to fit in? Nothing, at least from my experiences with peer pressure. Yes, being noticed and visible is a plus, but changing yourself to make others happy is not. Learning it from the hard way, I believe that no one should change for the better of society; they should change for the better for them self.

Knowing my past of being a victim, I am now here supporting girls who are and/or had gone through what I had once faced. We are all vulnerable, very vulnerable; that is taken to an advantage to these suspects that believe they are superior. They judge and discriminate, they bully and they harass. They mess with our emotions and our thoughts; we think we’re powerless against them because of the weakness that they make us reveal. Anyone out there who is struggling will be the strongest; they will rise to the fullest. I believe in them because if I can do, they can do it too! Although, it is sad to see how cruel someone could be, but, if there is no struggle, there is no progress.