Adolescence.

Youth.

The most beautiful period of a person's life.

Maybe for others... but not for me.

I was a girl like many others. I went to school, studied, wanted to have fun with friends and live my life like everyone else.

Back then I wore glasses and, above all, I was an overweight girl.

Because of this, I started being bullied by my classmates.

At first it was just some jokes about my weight that didn't bother me much—sometimes I even played along—but it didn't end there.

The jokes got heavier and I became more and more marginalized.

I remember one particular incident: while I was entering the school enclosure to feed the animals, someone locked me inside and took the key with them. Before I could even process what had just happened, I heard a voice shouting at me from afar:

"EVEN COWS BELONG IN CAGES!"

Hearing those words, I suddenly burst into tears. I was locked in for an entire hour before a teacher passed by and helped me get out.

I never found out who locked me in.

Back then I had only one friend.

We got along really well and I felt good with her, but she started being targeted just because she talked to me. So, to avoid that unpleasant situation, she turned her back on me and also became one of those who mistreated me. In the end, among all the kids, she became the main instigator.

There was also the time I was beaten up by a group of girls just for their own entertainment.

I know it doesn't make sense, but people are like that. They enjoy seeing or causing suffering in others.

Because of all this, over time I became more and more antisocial and withdrew further into myself.

But being alone was fine with me...

The only thing I wanted was to be left alone.

I never told my family anything, also because the family environment left much to be desired. Actually, maybe it was precisely because of my situation that I started gaining weight. Eating was the only thing that made me feel at peace with myself and distracted me from the chaos at home. My parents did nothing but argue constantly, especially after what happened...

After finishing middle school, I decided that in high school I would change my life.

So I did everything I could to change my physical appearance, losing as much weight as possible before the start of my new school year and reaching my ideal weight. Though I think I did it more for others than for myself. From that bulky physique emerged a completely new girl—and not to brag, but a rather pretty one. Now my straight, silky brown hair and thin lips were more noticeable. My brown eyes, once buried under layers of skin, now sparkled with reddish hues in the sunset light, turning their timid gaze toward the future, toward the new world that awaited me. I was ready to live a peaceful school life, but fate would have it that some kids from my middle school ended up attending the same high school.

Despite my significant weight loss, I was targeted again in the same way.

Nasty rumors started circulating about me, portraying me as a prostitute. Word spread that I slept with older men for money.

So my ideal of a normal adolescence vanished, and I was once again alone.

I was ready to live through another nightmare, but then one day...