286. Outcast: Write about someone who is not accepted by their peers. (for example, the Ugly Ducking)
A girl I grew up with a girl who in fifth grade, began talking smack about me. She told my friends that if they were my friends, then she wouldn’t be friends with them and they went along with it which means they really were never my friends. I no longer had anyone to play handball with, to talk with, or to sit with at lunch. In the 70’s, bullying wasn’t a topic adults addressed and I got the messaging to ignore them or be nice to them which just left me exactly where I was. I just leaned into it, grabbed books, and read in the bathroom for 2 years. The good news is that I love reading but to this day, I’ve not understood nor absolved them of their behavior.
