Always Say Nice Things

I believe if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.

I am a military child, so I’ve been in many different states, and schools. Every school I attended people would say things about me, like she’s ugly, or she doesn’t fit in here, etc. Every time their hateful words would hurt me, my mom would tell me: “They’re really hurting themselves by saying hateful things about other people.”

When I was eleven, my dad told me we were moving to Havelock, North Carolina, and that I would go to Havelock Middle School. My first day of school I wore a frilly pink dress, and everyone at school had something to say. I had many different people come up to me and say, “What are you wearing? Do you even belong here or even anywhere?” I felt as if my confidence level just dropped into the negative numbers.

Another experience I had was when I said something. I was about thirteen and this girl was new. My friends started saying so many mean things about her, and I wanted to fit in, so I said some mean things to. But what I didn’t expect was that she was standing behind me and my friends didn’t tell me. By the time I actually saw her whole face, she ran off to the girl’s bathroom crying. I ran after her to try and take it back, but she wouldn’t talk to me. I kept apologizing over and over, and finally, by the time I said it a hundred times, she finally came out of the bathroom stall. I told her that I felt horrible for what I said, and that I only said those things to fit in with them because I didn’t feel like I was fitting in. She told me, “If you feel like you don’t fit in, then you should hang out with people you do fit in with.” I told her that I didn’t know anyone else. She said, “But you know me.” We have been best friends ever since.

So, I believe if you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything at all.