“You, are nobody!” The bully screamed at me. It hurt a lot. It hurt because of the people watching. The bully. The sidekicks. The bystanders. My ‘friends’. It hurt because I was shedding tears in front of all these people. Whoever said sticks and stones can break your bones etc. etc. deserves some sort of award, they were obviously the biggest optimist ever. But this is not the point. Whether names hurt you or not, there is no human dead or alive that deserves to be bullied. And it shouldn’t have hurt that day. But it did, it hurt a lot.
It wasn’t until afterwards that I realized exactly why it shouldn’t hurt. Who cares about everyone. The bully. The sidekicks. The bystanders. My ‘friends’. The fact is, nobody is perfect, and that’s exactly who I was, nobody. Even the bully had admitted it. “You, are nobody!” They had all laughed in agreement. The sidekicks. The bystanders. My ‘friends’. They didn’t realize the irony of the situation.
It happened again. It always did. I lined up. The cafeteria lady smiled. He stood next to me. The bully. He swung his fist. They gathered. The sidekicks. The bystanders. My ‘friends’. I ducked. The choreography so well rehearsed it rivaled even the greatest Broadway production. He threw me to the ground.
“You, are nobody!” The bully screamed at me. It didn’t hurt a lot. It didn’t hurt because of the people watching. The bully. The sidekicks. The bystanders. My ‘friends’. I sat myself up, no tears, and replied, calmly, “I know. That’s the reason I’m going to help you. Nobody is perfect. I am sorry you have to bully me. Let me help you.” The bully began to cry. They left. The sidekicks. The bystanders. My ‘friends’.
You see, what I never realized was that I didn’t need help. I was fine. The people who needed help were the others. The bully. The sidekicks. The bystanders. My ‘friends’. I realize now that because I was nobody, I was perfect, and the only one who could help them all it. It was easier with some. The sidekicks. The bystanders. My ‘friends’. All they needed was someone to stand up to the bully. It was more difficult in one case, since the final cafeteria incident we have come along way. All they needed was someone to reach out and help. Someone perfect. The bully. He needed that nobody. The victim.
~You…Are Nobody, by Ari M
You Will Rise Project 
Inspiring!!! Thanks for sharing!