-You are someone
that's going to change the world.
You should believe in yourself more.
Just know that no matter what,
we love you.
There's someone that you can always come to
with unconditional love.
That, that's the things I would've liked to hear it.
-Dragon skin, lizard skin.
They would actually refer to me as like some sort of reptile.
-Sissy, faggot, stupid, ugly, fat.
-Fat boy, fatso, "Hey, two-ton."
-Me being biracial,
he would ask me why are you so light?
Why do you have a red tint to your hair?
-When bullying first started for me
I was probably around six or seven years old.
-I was about 14 years old.
And I was bullied by someone who's a lot older than me.
He was a senior. We played a sport together.
And this kid would just not let it go.
-She kind of of looked at me
and she says like, "Ew! What's on your hands?"
Because I've got eczema.
-Valentine's Day.
Every year you know people like get letters and stuff.
On Valentine's Day I'd be so excited
because I never had a Valentine.
I thought I would get the letter,
but when I read the letter, I would, like, turn around
and, like, people would be laughing
because they wrote it.
They just made me feel like somebody cared about me,
but they didn't.
-It was to the point where I wouldn't even want
to go to school some days
just because he bullied me so much.
-As a child you just you deal with it
the best way you can.
My mother would say ignore it
and my father would say, "Well, then stand up for yourself."
But that didn't feel right to me either.
-He would just do, like, physical things.
Like, either they pushed me against walls or lockers
or, like, spit on me
and I didn't do anything about it.
-I wanted a magic wand to make it disappear.
The bullying would stop because my skin would be
just like everyone else.
Because I wanted to be just like everyone else.
-I used to think to myself like, "Why did my mom do this to me?
Why did my dad do this to me? Like, why can't I be normal?"
-My mother and father brought the pastor over
when I was discovering who I am.
They thought that I was going down the wrong path.
I'd say that that's the thing that hurts most
is having to deal with bullying where you're at school
and then coming home and not having love
from my family,
feeling alone a lot.
-If I had the opportunity to speak
with all of those little kids that belittled me,
bullied me, called me names,
I would ask them, "How long did it take you
before you found out bullying was no good?
Or did you ever realize that?"
[ Ringing ]
-Hello. -Hello, Nate?
-I don't really know what to say.
He hurt me emotionally and physically.
He treated me like dirt.
-You always made me feel like I was a freak
or a nobody, and there were points in my life
that I believed every word you said.
-Years have passed and we have grown.
Words had been said and branded in my memories.
-Honestly, I don't resent you for it.
-Though painful, it left a scar.
Not a negative one.
But more of a bookmark to remind me
that different is nothing to be ashamed of.
-I'm not mad at you.
I really just want to thank you for being a tool
used in my journey to self discovery.
-And I do in the bottom of my heart appreciate you
because you've given me some really thick skin
and nothing can get to me or break me that easy anymore.
-You are part of the reason I am who I am today.
-Yeah, I'm sorry about that. We was young.
-I've just always wanted to tell you.
-It pains my soul.
-I forgive you and I hope you know that.
-I hope you have grown, too.
And have changed your perspective on being different.