People who want to cut you down will use anything they can against you. The best revenge is living well!

These words really do extreme damage. I’m not sure what helps best in the moment.

Looking back on my elementary school bullying I got regarding my looks, I could have handled it differently. I cried about it and complained to my mother, who did nothing. She told me to tell them they were just jealous, which only fueled the fire. This was a long time ago. Today, she would likely talk to the principal and the girls would be told to stop.

In my fantasies, I imagined calling them every hurtful name back I could use and wiping the floor with them. If I had done that, would their mean words about me made me feel less negative about myself? Probably not. I would have only then made myself look like a worse bully than them, and they the victim.