I am a high school senior known for my opinions. Because I often conflicted with my southern conservative classmates, I had been called every name under the sun. Some included “crazy liberal”, “freak”, even “devil”. I hated going to school each day because I felt like everyone had a problem with who I was as a person. I would be singled out, teased, cursed at, and repeatedly embarrassed. I would sit in class or walk the halls just waiting for the insults to fly. The verbal arguments I would get into just to defend myself left me feeling incredibly weak and one-sided, like the world was against me. All I wanted was respect and equality.

Then it came. I received The Secret as a gift from my mother. I believe to this day that it was meant to come to me. After reading just the first chapter, I felt inside that my life would be forever changed.

I learned from the book that I am blessed to be in school and I shouldn’t hate it. I have learned to go to school everyday with a positive mindset, expecting the best and knowing that it will come to me. I now wake up and say “Thank you”. I am thankful for those classmates who challenge me to keep asserting who I really am. They help me remember. I find myself happy, truly happy. And that is something that I haven’t been for far too long. I love my life now, and I have an amazingly bright future ahead of me.