Healing from Childhood Bullying and Rising Above Hateful Speech: My Journey When I was around 9 years old, I experienced something no child should ever go through—being teased and bullied simply for being different. As a young LGBT kid, my identity became a target, and I often wondered what the homes of those who tormented me were like. What could their households have been teaching them that made it seem okay to belittle someone else? Were they even aware of the impact of their words, or were they just repeating what they heard? It still baffles me to think they were just kids, my age, already forming such harmful ideas. One particular girl, over the span of 18 years, took that teasing to an extreme level. She didn’t just poke fun; she terrorized me and my sister for being gay. Her words cut deep and left lasting scars. Every time I think of her now, it’s strange to see how life plays out. Recently, I came across pictures of her on Facebook, posted by her family members, a...