If you’ve ever been bullied, you remember.

It doesn’t matter how old you get. It doesn’t matter how long ago it was. You remember it.

I remember.

It doesn’t matter how many times you hear that “bullies are really insecure and sad inside,” which is true, but largely unhelpful and mildly insulting to someone on the receiving end of bullying.

I got an email today from a reader, 16-year-old Megan Landry, who wanted to share her song with us, and the words to it touched me, and made me consider the gift that I’ve received from the difficult people I’ve encountered in life.

For those of you who’ve been bullied, I’m glad for so many anti-bullying messages in a time when children seem to have become fluent in cruelty. I’m glad that we’re saying “It Gets Better,” and it does. It gets better. You grow up and the stuff that makes you feel like you don’t quite fit right when you’re a kid is what makes you an extraordinary adult.

But know this: the difficult things you go through can make you bitter, they can harden you—or they can make you stronger.

Being stronger because of the hurts we’ve faced doesn’t mean we get tougher and don’t let people in. Being stronger means we are able to truly open up.

Thanks, Megan, for bringing this message in such a beautiful way:

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