“I would go into the bathroom stall during halftime and re-apply the tape that held my wig on. I saw nothing beautiful about my bald head. When they called me ‘baldy’ or said, ‘Lindsay is ugly,’ I believed it was true. I took my wig off mid-run. And for the first time, I saw nothing beautiful about it. I finally felt like I was the Lindsay I was always meant to be.”
‘I could never date someone without hair.’ I’ll never forget the look of disgust on his face.’: Woman with alopecia ditches wig, ‘It has shown me I can do anything I set my mind to’
‘It bothers people that I’m confident. When I started casually dating after he passed away, people were not okay with that.’: Confident widow encourages others to ‘throw out expectations of self-pity’
“Recently, my daughter has experienced bullying at school. The people who have been unkind to her likely have no idea what we’ve been through the last 2 years. They just see a target and go after her relentlessly. This body has carried me through hell and back.”
‘I was 13 when an older friend said, ‘I’m out of condoms but it’s fine, I know what I’m doing.’ I believed him.’: Woman says the key to a healthy sex life after a ‘past’ is communication
“At 13, I began to let boys put their hands on my sacred spaces, but my permission still didn’t gain their respect. I was just a goal conquered as he walked past the football team. I saw the smirks and yet I continued to endure the degrading behavior. Sex is so much more sacred than mankind has treated it.”
‘I swallowed my own tongue and went blue. One week into school, the bullying began. ‘Why should I be moved and not them?’: Teen with Treacher Collins Syndrome urges ‘we are all unique and amazing in every way’
“I was born with no ears, no cheekbones, and a receding jaw. Food and bottles were thrown at me. It got to the point where they would trip me and pin me up against walls. I used to come home from school every day crying, but still the school did nothing. Instead, they moved me to another class. ‘Why should I be moved and not them?’ The bullies took over my life.”
‘She showed me the texts, shaking. ‘My son and his friends were planning to splash a milkshake on her face.’: Mom urges ‘bullying affects everyone’
“I was at the beach with my kiddies when I saw a woman crying. She left from yelling at her 15-year-old son and went for a walk because she didn’t want him to see her tears. She found out he has been bullying a girl at school and took his phone. Shaking, she showed me the group texts.”
‘Today I listened to two women complain about how ‘disgustingly fat’ they were. Their children were RIGHT THERE. And so were mine.’: Mom shares powerful plea to end cycle of bullying, ‘Our children are hurting’
“‘Did you see what she’s WEARING?’ ‘She got fat!’ ‘God, she should date guys her age!’ ‘WHY doesn’t she just wear a bit of foundation?’ My children were right there.”
‘Your makeup looks like you worship Satan. Your entire appearance disgusts me.’: Abuse victim proudly says, ‘I am so much more than she said I was going to amount to’
“She would break out the large stitching needles and sit on my tiny form, peeling my fingernails away from my flesh. It didn’t matter what it was, she insulted it. ‘You will die alone,’ she said when I mentioned being in love with a girl. ‘I should have aborted you,’ when I talked back. Once puberty hit, it was game over for me. I couldn’t win no matter how hard I tried.”
‘He cannot speak. He plays differently. He may not look you in the eye. Every day, I wonder, ‘Did someone play with him in the schoolyard?’: Mom says ‘thank you’ to young boy for acknowledging autistic son
“‘Hi Riley, see you in the yard.’ This one sentence made me beam from ear to ear. At that moment, I knew that my little boy was OK. My little boy had a friend, one who finally took the time to learn his name.”
‘At 10 months old, he weighed over 35 pounds. I began keeping food logs. ‘Does this justify the weight gain?’: Mom births baby with obesity disorder, autism
“Immediately after birth, he began growing rapidly. He grew almost 3 inches and 8 pounds in 7 weeks. We were told Joshua’s condition is ‘without a doubt rare and genetic.’ Everywhere we went, people stared. Josh just wants to be everyone’s friend.”
‘How do you feel?’ I said, ‘Shocked.’ But the relief I felt was unreal. Tears streamed down my face.’: Woman diagnosed with autism at 30, ‘Autism is not something I have. It’s who I am.’
“As my phone began to ring, I noticed there was no caller ID. My heart skipped a beat, my throat tightened, and I froze. I knew this was it. Why were they calling now? This was not a good time. My report was ready. I felt the blood rush to my head. I was walking through a busy street. Tears streamed down my face. I had waited for forever. Why had we not seen it for so many years? I was 30 years old – so much of my life had been a lie.”
