A Letter To My Friend In India Whom I’ve Never Met Before

To V, my friend on the other side of the world.
First of all, V, you are heard.
I used to be bullied from Kindergarten to 5th grade. While I hide it well, the scars still show from time to time when friends and family take one too many sarcastic jabs at me.
When that happens I curl up into myself, and this 24-year-old “man” turns into a boy.
That’s how tough bullying can be. It can transcend time and affect your heart even when the hearts of those bullying you may have changed for the better.
Those were a rough six years.
After sixth grade I transferred schools and made 20–25 brand new friends. They treated me so well, and the bullying ended.
I finally found people who had kindness in their hearts, and the next two years rolled back a lot of the damage done in the previous six.
Then I got to high school.
I transferred schools once again, and attended my first “public” institution. In short, this was a whole new ballgame.
Girls, Seniors, and the incredibly long hallways of a building that could fit 2,000 students were all so intimidating to me.
I folded under pressure.
Fifteen was one of the toughest years of my life.
And if you want me to be honest, sixteen was too.
I played a lot of sports and was always pretty fit, but my grades started to slip. In fact, one of my most-vivid memories was when I got pulled out into the hallway by one of my teachers.
She asked me if I was okay.
Her eyes showed she meant it.
I broke down and cried in front of her.
I’ll never forget that day.
She told me I was failing the class, and that she would do anything she could to help me raise the grade.
You know what that class was?
As fate would have it, that class was English.
Now look at me — I write for a living.
You see, V, we are not always who we were ten years ago, or one year ago, or even yesterday.
Our physical appearances can change, our grades can change, and our attitude towards life can change.
We won’t always be stuck in the moment we’re in — that’s one of the most beautiful things about life.
Things can change.
So, V, here’s my advice to you.
Keep listening to music — it will get you through more than you know.
Keep your eye on that girl you like — maybe you can take her out one day.
Keep being upset about the grades you’re getting — one day you’ll have enough and decide to do something about it.
And I don’t mean that harshly, I just mean to say that I see you’re not happy with where you are, and something tells me you’ll fix it on your own, no kick in the pants by me required :).
Many times yelling and screaming aren’t the best motivators.
You know how I know that?
Because it wasn’t the screams of a coach or teacher that got me going, but a simple question asked softly in the hallway of my old school that did.
So I ask you now, Are you okay?
There is somebody you’ve never met on the other side of the world who cares about you.
These words will be read by hundreds of people — they will know your struggle and some will even comment to cheer you on, too. I know that because I have such an amazing audience here.
We are rallying behind you, now.
I have faith in you, buddy. I have faith because you already know what’s wrong in your life, and it seems you’re bursting at the seams to fix it.
My bet?
You will.
-Your friend Tom

