I just finished my volleyball game, and my team won, I walked outside the gym to see my best friend standing there telling me | did awesome, we hugged said goodbye to each other and I left for home. I then went outside to watch my neighbors kids for four hours, then went inside and played Wii with my dad. That’s when it all changed. I looked at my IPhone 3GS and read the most devastating text I had ever received from my best friend, “Taylor, you need to change who you are, no one likes you… ” This text lengthened and explained how come no one liked me. This one text had changed my life forever.
Once this storm hit, I knew I was in for a bumpy ride. I quickly ran downstairs and showed my mom the text she had sent me. My mom was furious and my sister was curious. They were outraged once they had fully read it. I sat there crying asking my mom what I could have possibly done wrong. I was only 12. My mom took my phone away for a few days to help me calm down, thankfully it was a three day weekend, but sadly I cried every day of that weekend. When I returned to school that Tuesday, I saw her sitting there smiling, laughing, and talking to some other people who I mistook as my friends.
I walked over to her and just started to ask her, “Why would you tell me that? What did I do wrong? Was it something I did or say? What happened? ” She stood there looking at me like a deer in headlights, she had no clue what to say. We started to argue in the middle of the courtyard, everyone was looking at us. No one talked to me and I felt so alone, while many tried to pull her away and get her to not pay attention. It was at this moment that I realized, all of the people I thought were my friends were not really my friends.
I walked into Choir, the only class I had with her, and once I saw her I ran crying. My teacher ran after me and asked me if I was okay and if I wanted her to talk to someone for me. I looked at her and replied assertively that I didn’t need help, but I wanted to move seats since I sat right next to her. She moved me next to someone who I never really talked to, she was a new girl in 8th grade and I was only in 7th. She was smiling and asked me how my day was and if I was alright and needed anything. She was very kind and cared a lot about how I was.
The entire time we were not singing we were talking about our lives. We became good friends. Sadly, she did not have my lunch. I ended up searching for someone I knew at lunch instead of sitting at my old table. I saw an old friend from elementary school and asked her if I could sit with her, she said yes and we began to catch up on old times. We rekindled our friendship and I grew happy again. Two years later I received another text from the girl who basically cyber bullied me. This time the text was different, it was not a hate message or to tell me I was worthless, but it was an apology.
When I read the text I did not know what to do and I was not at home, I was helping out with a minor league baseball team selling snacks, so I asked my sister who was there helping out as well what to do, she told me to wait and ask my mom. When I got home I showed the message to my mom who then told me it was my decision for what to do and whether or not | wanted to work out the problem. It took me several minutes to think of a response to send, since her message stated, “I was in a bad place and people kept getting to my head and telling me you were spreading rumors about others.
I should have known that that wasn’t who you are and I should have told them that they were full of it. I’m really sorry and hope you could forgive me. ” My response ended up taking me an hour to write and rewrite and once I got it to say what I wanted I hit send and then my message of, “I forgive you, but you ruined my trust in you… ” This conversation extended with questions and answers and took a while to overcome many things, eventually we resolved our problems, and now I have fully come through the storm and I no longer feel hurt and betrayed anymore.
The event that took place is really significant to me because it made me realize who my real friends are and that you really can’t trust everyone. It also helped me reflect on the type of person I was and who I wanted to be. I began to realize what | was saying to people and began to change my actions and become a better me than I have ever been. Now I am more outgoing and social than I was in the seventh grade and I have began to stand up for myself and others. Without that text | really would not have been wholam today and even though it was a horrible experience, I am truly glad it happened to me.
