My name is London Nguyen. When I first started middle school in 6th grade, things were pretty ugly. I thought there were going to be lots of new students from different elementary schools joining me here, which would be fun because I could get more friends. But I was wrong. Some people were very mean, inappropriate, judgmental, and racist right away. All I wanted was to be positively noticed. Once, I overheard other people saying nice things about others like “I really like her hair” or “they are so funny.” I wanted some of that for myself, but I didn’t really get compliments and I was a shy kid. I wanted to be social and be popular so people would compliment me or talk about me like that. But I didn't know how to do it. I was too anxious to be social and I kind of freaked out. I didn’t post myself on social media so people never really knew me. Throughout 6th grade, however, I felt like gaining popularity was important, but I didn’t know why.

Eventually, I started to get comments on my hair, my style, and the way I look. But some people made fun of it because it was too weird or ugly. I tried to ignore it and focus on work, but the comments were very hurtful. I eventually lost focus for a while. The comments kept on going and going. I began to be insecure about myself, and I even started to hate myself. I started to cry almost every night thinking "what is wrong with me?" My grades and concentration started to slip. I realized that I was not going to fit in because of the negative comments. This continued in 6th and 7th grade.

Then, in the middle of 7th grade, I decided to dye my hair black because I wanted a change. My hair was brown before. When I dyed my hair black, I started to get compliments like how it looks cute and pretty. So I decided to change my style. A lot of people liked the way I dressed. The hate comments stopped. Then I started to love myself. I was getting a lot of followers on Instagram because somehow the 6th graders knew me. I was voted for the "Best Fashion" superlative in the yearbook's Hall of Fame. Over the summer in 2023, I worked on myself to look pretty because I didn’t want to get hateful words towards myself again.

In the beginning of my 8th grade year, I forced myself to talk to new people, like I wish I originally had back in 6th grade. It went pretty well, and I think people respond positively to positive energy. My friends list got a lot bigger. This year, I was voted for "Most Photogenic" in the yearbook's Hall of Fame, but I think it's because my face shape kind of changed and I got prettier. My braces have come off. Sometimes I think about the change I made though. I struggle with feeling happy that I gained popularity because I realized that somewhere in the middle I acted like a totally different person to get here. I'm finally starting to be myself again, and this is the acceptance I should have had all along. I wish people wouldn’t say hateful comments or be judgmental in the first place. It can really ruin someone’s mental health and make themselves change completely in order for people to like them. I have now come to understand that popularity isn’t everything. You don’t need people’s opinions to be happy. I started to act like myself, and dressed like myself. I am still known well for being me. Never change yourself just because some people didn’t like it. There are 8 billion people in this world, and there is only one you. Embrace who you really are and own it.

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