To the Suicidal Teen Being Bullied Online

I want to preface this note by saying I know exactly where you’re coming from. I understand your pain, all of the nights spent alone wondering if it’s even worth it anymore. On the outside, everything may seem fine, but on the inside?

On the inside, you’re hurting.

On the inside, you feel as if you’re merely going through the motions, and with each day that passes, you wish there was something more. You wish that somehow, the endless array of hallways you navigate through each day could disappear and with them, all of your naysayers and doubters too.

It didn’t all used to be like this though. You remember a day where you could care less what anybody thought about you. You remember a day when you were just you, and all your friends loved you for who you are. Those days are seemingly over now. The playground you used to interact with other kids on is now replaced with Facebook and Twitter.

In this “always on” world, words can be posted in a millisecond. Words that have power, words that mean something. These words get played over and over in your head. Soon enough, you start believing them.

I have a message for you though, friend. Never believe what anybody says about you. I get it. Their words hurt. They feel like stab wounds. Every time you remember them, you start to accept them as truth. The truth is though, their words couldn’t be further away from the truth. Don’t you understand? Their words are meaningless, written from the keyboard of a coward.

Their words could never adequately describe you, your intellect or your true character. You are beautiful and loved. I believe you were created by a God who made you for a specific purpose, and for exactly the time you are in now. You are wanted. You are treasured. You are needed. Anyone or anything that makes you believe otherwise is just plain wrong. The naysayers and doubters will always try their best to define you and to make you believe what they are saying about you is truth.

However, know that none of it is. Know that beneath all of the tweets and mean rhetoric, lies a person too, a person who is hurting, just like you. It is a person trying to mask their own insecurities, by attacking you. One day, when you make it past the hallways and into the real world, you’ll realize just how insecure those people were. Their voices will shrink and become silenced. They will be left to criticize while you’re changing the world.

Until then, realize that no 140-character tweet or mean message could possibly define you. Realize that your best days truly are ahead of you. These days are long and hard, but they will get better. Until then, keep pressing forward. It gets better, I promise.

If you or someone you know needs help, visit our suicide prevention resources page.

If you need support right now, call the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. You can reach the Crisis Text Line by texting “START” to 741-741.