“Remember to enjoy EVERYTHING. the things that feel good, the things that hurt, rejection, acceptance.. it’s all going to make you better. stronger.”

This quote by Hayley Williams really set the tone for the 2014 Names Assembly. I can still remember freshman year like it was yesterday, walking into a new school with so many students that were going to get opportunities that students all across the world might not, or couldn’t get.

My homeroom teacher told me that today was going to be the day we all learned something about each other, and sure enough we did. As I listened to the representative that the Anti Defamation League sent to our school, I began to listen. Not just listen, but hear him, understand him, and relate to him. He started to tell us stories about his childhood and how he suffered from bullying as a child, and then became a bully due to his trauma as a kid. As his story went on, I knew that deep down he wasn’t the only one that needed to apologize for his brutal actions that he did as a teen. I, too, had some apologizing I needed to do.

It was that part of the assembly that really changed the entire mood of my freshman class. When they called open mic, the man asked students to come up and share their own stories about bullying. Of course I was hesitant, but then I got up and reached for the mic, and as I was beginning to apologize, I could see her face in the distance. There she was, and there I stood in front of half of the freshman class. I took a deep breath and tears began to roll down my face. I broke down, and so did she because she knew why I was up there and what I had to say. I held the microphone up and said very slowly, “I’m so sorry I never did anything to help you.”

After that I handed the microphone back into the ADL leader’s hand and ran to her and hugged her as tight as I could. In that moment I knew Niles West was a place for forgiveness and go backs and friendship. Niles West was a chance for everyone to start over, including me.

Looking back on that experience two years ago, it made me realize what type of person I want to be and what type of people I want surrounding me. So I became a part of the Names team. I became a panelist and shared my story with the freshman each year after the first. Being that this is my third year attending the Names Assembly, I know that everyone, I mean everyone has come into contact with bullying in some shape or form. It makes you realize that you really don’t know a person and that you shouldn’t judge people by how they look or by how they appear. You should get to know a person first, trust me, it makes all the difference.