I'm not saying it's easy, because its not

But when the kids call you names

And the children laugh in your face

And you have little to no friends left

And you're trying very hard not to cry,

You have to understand that you are not the names they called you

And please remember that its not just the names

You get called when you are five.

You are not the awful things that happened to you at seven

Or the words they whispered in your ears

And the secrets they made you keep.

You are not the mistakes you made at ten, eleven, twelve

And everything inbetween

Or the things you called yourself at all times after that.

You are not your mental illnesses or disorders;

The ones that twirl around your brain and toy with your fears.

You are not the toxic thoughts that you have at 2am or the phobias

That no one believes are real.

The friends that left you,

The rumours about you,

The times you thought you were better of dead.

And it is a hard thing to remember 

But I promise you dear,

You are none of these things.

To me, you are everything,

Anything

Else.