I think everybody should like everybody

When I was young, I was confident, happy and I never paid any attention to people’s appearance, let alone my own. I would wear the clothes I liked and it wouldn’t make a difference what others were wearing. Then I became friends with a girl who would change me. She would put me down, she would talk badly about me behind my back, she would make up rumours about me. You can never truly understand the ability a girl has to absolutely ruin your life until you’ve experienced it first hand. I began to feel worthless. I began to look at myself in the mirror and notice the flaws. My confidence slowly went downhill. And the hardest part – I still wanted to be her friend. Despite all the thing she’s done to me, I still wanted her to like me. At the time I wasn’t confident enough to stand up to her and tell her I was sick of her.
The year went on and it continued. Day after day, I would come home, with no desire to do anything. My grades gradually started to decline. By the time the next year had rolled around, I was absolutely miserable. She told me she didn’t want to be my friend anymore, because I’d hurt her so much. She said I had ruined her life. I couldn’t believe it. Regardless of that fact that I was rid of her nasty comments, and mean ways I would still look at myself and only see the bad things. Slowly over time, I wouldn’t raise my hand with the answers, I wouldn’t speak out in class. Even though I wasn’t being put down by her, I was still aware of what people thought of me.
After a while, I was shy, quiet, awkward and completely unhappy. I would smile with my friends and laugh at their jokes. But inside I was broken. I was so self conscious. Over the next two years, I was the same. Quiet, insecure, shy and was only truly happy when I was alone. I became angry, and would take it out on the people who were there for me the most, my family. I would get into fights. I would scream and yell. That was the only way for me to get out my anger, and looking back, it was probably the worst way to have gone about it.
Then, when grade 10 rolled around, something inside changed. Whether it was the attention I was getting from guys, or just a change in my concern for what others thought, I started to become less shy. I could chat with total strangers, I could carry on a conversation with someone regardless of gender, age or popularity. I began to feel confident in myself, and I was much, much happier. There was no epiphany, no moment of realization. Gradually over time, I just became sure of myself. I’m still in grade 10, and every day I become more and more confident. Of course I’m still awkward and uncomfortable sometimes, and I still get embarrassed. But it doesn’t haunt me for the rest of the day. I can blow it off, and move on.
I think it’s partly growing up, and realizing that people don’t really care. But for the most part, I think its been my friends and my family, being there for me, and always reassuring me that I have worth, and that I do deserve true happiness.