‘To This Day’ A Poem Everyone Should Hear

Bullying is something, that right now is such a hot button issue. Bullying is something that I'm pretty sure on some level everyone has experienced. Some people say that bullying is "character building"  Well I may be young, and I don't know a ton, but I can say there's a difference between building character, and being put down to the point you believe what those people are saying.

I've always prided myself in being a pretty confident person, who does my best not to let people walk all over me.  However there was a time when I was bullied.  I was in Junior High, I was very heavy, it's something I've battled my whole life.  My weight has always been my biggest problem.  But in Junior High, kids used that to define me.  They didn't look at the person I was, just the person they saw, and what they saw was a girl who was "lazy", and ate too much.  I got called names to the point where I was physically sick every morning before school, and would beg my mom to let me stay home, and then everyday I'd cry when I got home, it was awful. Once I got to high school it got better, there were so many more people there so I rarely saw those girls, so it was nice that the name calling stopped.  But even in high school when I  worked hard and lost over 60lbs it still wasn't good enough, I still was not thin enough. To this day, I struggle with my weight, to this day I'm constantly dieting and exercising, and I'm never fully satisfied with how I look.  Luckily, I've always had a very strong support system, and I got through it.  But not everyone has that.

This poem was written by a man named Shane Koyczan, who is no stranger to bullying.  From the time he was a kid and until he became an adult he talks about his experiences with bullying in the video that is heartbreaking to watch. It's a video that definitely makes you think.  How many kids are going to end their lives before we do something?

Because of his experiences Shane has started a project called the "To This Day Project" and this project was all in an effort to raise awareness about bullying.

One of my favorite lines from his poem is this:

and if you can’t see anything beautiful about yourself
get a better mirror
look a little closer
stare a little longer
because there’s something inside you
that made you keep trying
despite everyone who told you to quit
you built a cast around your broken heart
and signed it yourself
you signed it
“they were wrong”

Check out his poem below, and feel free to share with others.