1. Target, because they have everything a girl could dream of wanting. 2. Amazon, because the have fast shipping and they have just about anything you need. 3. Wayfair, because I am always looking to update my room and they have great prices for cute décor.

There was a little girl, about 13 years old and she looked like the happiest girl in the world. Not a tear in her eye or a rude word to say about anyone she met. She loved to talk and make friends with anyone who wanted to because she felt connected to everyone. Growing up being taught to be respectful and kind to everyone, she never expected that someone could or would want to be mean to her. That is school at its finest though. For a while she would go home every day, look in the mirror, and cry. The new insecurities that were brought to her on a daily basis made her hate herself. She took her life for granted and wished it away. She was at a moment in her life where she felt she was not good enough, not skinny enough, not pretty enough, not worth the time of day. So she started to shelter herself. She stopped talking as much, stop expressing herself through her clothes or makeup, and started being "just there." Until a bright light came out of nowhere and took away all her pain. That bright lights name was Hailey. She was the one person who could see the pain in that girl's eyes. She took it upon herself to talk to her, let her tell her story, and tell her everything was going to be alright. All that girl ever wanted to hear was that everything was going to be alright, that she was loved, and that she was enough. Hailey made her feel like she was enough. The girl was called annoying and stupid, but Hailey found those things unique. The two girls resembled each other more than two twins. I Isabella Anderson, was that girl, and now because of Hailey, I can say I am still here. I will forever be in debt to her. I am thankful for her gracefulness and compassion. I will never take her for granted.

According to "NVEE Statistics," every 1 in 7 students have experienced bullying. I was one of the lucky 14% of students that had experienced the criticizing pain of bullying. My pain started in 8th grade and “ended” in the 9th grade. I will forever carry around the pain I felt in those years, but instead of looking at it as a negative, I look at it as a learning experience. During that time, I was in a deep depression. The worst part of it all was that no one even noticed. Not my family. Not my friends. Partly because I felt rejected in my home as well. I never thought to talk to my parents or siblings because of past experiences with them. I took the rejection as a sign that I was not good enough. I believed that I was in the wrong. I wondered why these people hated me and why I out of all people was the center of the bullying. Was I too fat? Too ugly? Not good enough? One of the reasons I was so easily able to think like this is because my sisters were my earliest bullies. They called me fat and ugly daily because they knew those were my biggest insecurities. It took me a while to realize that I was not the problem, for both my sisters and my “friends.” When I finally left these “friends” of mine behind, I started to become okay with who I was. Not only did I leave my bullies, but I also left my friends who were bystanders. The people who sat there as I was called degrading names and terrorized about my appearance. Those people were just as bad as the bullies because they noticed it happening, but just sat by and laughed. After them, I became a confident and beautiful woman who pursues her dreams. I no longer hide in people's shadows fearing rejection and judgment. Instead, I flourish with ideas and opinions that I am no longer afraid to share. The words they threw at me caused me to do great things in life. I was told I would never accomplish or make anything out of my life. That I would be stuck in my perfectly athletic, skinny, beautiful sister’s shadow. I took that as a competition. I trained hard and worked out and I was pulled up to Varsity for basketball my Sophomore year. I tried out for volleyball after not playing since the 7th grade and I made the team. It took time, hard work, and dedication, but now I have accomplished what I never thought I could. What they told me I could not. My life was redirected into a new perspective. I have the strength to stand up for those going through similar situations I have gone through. I volunteer and help people who are less fortunate than me. People who would rather have experienced what I had gone through in order to have food on the table. I use to take my life for granted, now I treat it as my prized possession.

In life when one worries about how others perceive them they will never be able to accomplish anything. I have lived in fear of disappointing others, which kept me from accomplishing my dreams. This was new for me, I was not as skilled as the other girls, I felt judged and hated. I was bold because I went out into something that was new to me. People who talk about each other are not worth the time. I pushed through and thrived and now I plan to get pulled up to Varsity. I will prove these girls wrong!