Song: Part of Me by Katy Perry
~Days like this I want to drive away. Pack my bags and watch your shadow fade. You chewed me up and spit me out, like I was poison in your mouth. You took my light, you drained me down. But that was then and this is now. Now look at me. ~

BEEP BEEP BEEP! My alarm went off and I groaned. What’s the point of getting out of bed? I know what’s going to happen. I’ll go to school, get taunted and bullied for no reason, and then come home feeling horrible about myself. It’s the same thing every day.

I didn’t even do anything to make them hate me. Why do teenagers just randomly choose people and decide to pick on them? Especially new kids, like me. Is there, like, secret meetings they have where they all decide who they’re going to bully? And why me? Why the quiet girl who’s lived in town for a few months? I’ve barely said a word to anyone except for my teachers.

“Oh look who decided to show up again!”
“I thought maybe we had scared her away for good!”
“Didn’t you wear that outfit yesterday?”
“Ever heard of brushing your hair?”

Their words hurt. It’s not my fault that I can’t even afford a brush. It’s not my fault that we had to move to a tiny apartment after my dad lost his job and our house was foreclosed. It’s not my fault that my family lives off the small amount of money my parents had saved up. It’s not my fault my clothes are from Goodwill and I’m on free lunch at school.

Suddenly I was approached by a tall blonde girl.
“Didn’t you wear that shirt yesterday?” I feel my cheeks get hot.
“Well, yes, but I washed it after-“

“That’s gross,” she said, and shoved me against a locker. People laughed. I ran to the bathroom.

I’m not alone. A short red haired girl is already in the bathroom. All of a sudden, she looked up at me and hugged me. I’m not used to being hugged by strangers.

“I know who you are, and how bad you have it. I’m the same way.” She tells me her story, and I tell her mine. Her mom died in a car accident when she was seven, and her dad doesn’t have a job. They live off checks that her grandmother sends her. I can relate to her. We understand each other.

I’ve never had a conversation with someone at school for so long. We make plans to walk home together. Maybe things are getting better. When I got home, my parents were so thrilled that I made a friend that they practically started crying. Then, I was surprised to know that there’s more good news. My mom got a job! It pays a very decent amount. I can get new clothes that aren’t from Goodwill. We can have bigger meals. I can be happier.

Things still aren’t very easy. Money is still tight, and my dad has been fired from another job. Even now, five years later, as I’m getting ready to go to the first day of senior year of high school, my parents are struggling to get the money for college. But I have friends now, a lot of them. My closet is full of clothes I bought with babysitting money. The smile never leaves my face. I like to think that the hard times I went through were a phase, and that I’m onto a different one now.

~Now look at me, I'm sparkling. A firework, a dancing flame. You won't ever put me out again, I'm glowing, oh whoa. So you can keep the diamond ring. It don't mean nothing anyway. In fact you can keep everything. Yeah, yeah, except for me!

This is the part of me that you're never gonna ever take away from me, no. This is the part of me that you're never gonna ever take away from me, no (away from me).Throw your sticks and stones. Throw your bombs and your blows. But you're not gonna break my soul. This is the part of me that you're never gonna ever take away from me. ~