“Those harsh words I spoke to my daughter of, ‘Just STAY away from her!’ have been changed to, ‘Give her some grace. Just PRAY away.’ Not every kid at school has what my daughter has at home. And sometimes hurt and pain spills over into our kids too.”
‘I pulled out a bent card with smeared numbers, sent a text, and asked the mother of my daughter’s bully to coffee.’: Mom urges ‘we don’t know what others are going through unless we listen’
‘She said, ‘That isn’t going to look as good after 30 years and a baby.’: Woman responds to body shaming, ‘Tattoos are not for everyone, and that’s okay’
“My tattoos are for me, not you. Unfortunately, not everyone shares my opinions.”
‘All humans have 10 fingers.’ Everyone turned to stare at me. ‘Well I guess not EVERYONE.’: Teenager raises awareness about limb differences, ‘Difference is beautiful’
“No one I knew looked like me. I remember searching up different variations of ‘three-fingered hand’ to see if I could find someone else out there. It never worked.”
‘The girls stood outside, waiting for me. My fat was a weakness. I called my mom, sobbing. I wouldn’t be the same.’: Bullied makeup artist on self-love journey goes viral, ‘Love yourself as is’
“School was a scary place to be. Kids called me fat. I told my mom, ‘I want to lose weight.’ I wasn’t deemed ‘Instagram-worthy. It became my weakness.”
‘She said, ‘It’s pretty sad special ed kids will be allowed to attend school 5 days a week, but other kids can only go for 2!’: Special needs mom responds to school reopening backlash, ableism
“She continued, ‘The kids that are going further in life aren’t the special ed kids, sorry to say but it’s the truth. It’s easy to manage the class size and have them all attend.'”
‘Did you get kicked in the face by a horse?’ In that moment, I saw red.’: Woman shares cleft lip and palate surgeries to give other parents hope
“To tell you I was hurt doesn’t do it justice. In that moment, I saw red. ‘No, I was born with a cleft lip and palate.”
‘I was caught kissing a boy. ‘Come to the station. We’ll have fun with you. Clearly that’s what you like.’: Man shares coming out story, ‘I cared too much about fitting in’
“I’m a child of an Officer in the Indian Navy. I assumed only white men were gay. I pretended to have a crush with a female celebrity, lining my bedroom with her posters, while hiding a collection of pictures of men in their underwear under my mattress.”
‘I was told, ‘You are NOT same-sex attracted. You just need to make healthier male connections.’ I embarked on a 20-year conversation therapy journey.’: Man ‘breaks free’ at 38 and comes out as gay
“I grew up in the thick of the southern Baptist church. Being gay was ‘sinful, sick, and a ticket straight to hell.’ I was determined to turn myself straight through prayer and punishment.”
‘She told me, ‘Your stomach is so nasty. How can you be confident and dress sexy when you look like that?’ I constantly compared myself to my beautiful friends.’: Woman urges ‘all bodies are good bodies!’
“‘Wow, you look beautiful,’ my husband would comment. ‘Shut up… No, I don’t.’ On a daily basis, he’d tell me I was undeniably gorgeous. I’d deny each and every compliment. But he never gave up on trying to make me feel beautiful and sexy. This body was a home for 9 months.”
‘You’ll end up alone.’ I was called Miss Piggy and took 26 pills a day. The pain was suffocating.’: Woman diagnosed with Fibromyalgia overcomes eating disorder, suicide attempt
“I woke up one day in agony, unable to move properly and bed-bound. The constant pain was so overwhelming I felt like I couldn’t live anymore. I hated what I’d done to my body. It was time for a change.”
