Dear Storm Chaser,

Dear Storm Chaser, Don't do it. Don't go back home. Don't take that little bag of pills. Don't do it. Don't give up. Not like this. I know it feels like life is the director's cut of high school and deep down we're all just insecure 16-year-olds with a superiority complex. I know you keep seeing those 'positive reinforcement' signs everywhere. 'Love your body', 'love yourself', and I know you're wondering if they actually care. I know.

I know you're wondering if we ever really grow up. But let me tell you something: we don't. We just become experts in pretending to be adults.

I've been on the receiving end of bullying too. I've been called a whore, I've been shamed online and I wished someone would say or do something. Anything. But some battles you have to fight on your own. Sometimes you have to fight to be heard. I know. So when I say, life is an extended version of high school: I know what I'm talking about. I really do. So don't do it. Turn around. Walk away. And flush those pills down the toilet. Do it now. When someone calls you names or spreads vicious lies about you, don't hide. Don't bury your head in the sand and hope that it goes away. It never will, unless you deal with it. Cut those people off, ask someone for help or just look them in the eye and tell them that you've had enough. Either way, do something. It's hard. I know. I've fought. I'm not sure I've won. But I've fought. And so can you.

Murakami said, "And once the storm is over, you won't remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive.You won't even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won't be the same person who walked in. That's what this storms all about." So I hope you chase your storm, and I hope you come out the other side, maybe with battle scars, but happy in the end.

#Antibullying #strength