By Andie Fowler, REDBOOK.
As a parent, it breaks your heart to discover your child--or anyone else's child for that matter--is being bullied. It can also turn into something incredible.
When 14-year-old Carleigh O'Connell heard that there was graffiti at a nearby beach that made fun of her body, she decided to stand up for herself.
"A kid from school took a picture of it and showed me," says Carleigh. "When I went to the beach, I knew what I was looking for, so I had time to think about what I was going to do about it."
Carleigh found a rock with her name and the word "ass" written next to it. She took a picture on top of the rock--fully clothed at first. But after looking at the snap, she decided it "wasn't good enough." Carleigh then hopped back on the rock in her bikini, showing off the very thing she was being teased for, and posed for a second picture. This time, she approved and uploaded it to her private Instagram account with the caption, "Yours truly." One million kudos to Carleigh!
Related: The Top 10 Complaints From Unhappy Wives
Related: The Top 10 Complaints From Unhappy Wives
Carleigh then asked her mom, Daryl, to share the photo on her Facebook page, which she did after discussing any and the potential implications with her husband. "We didn't know where it could go, but if it could help one person, it would be worth it," says Daryl.
Bullying is unacceptable in any shape or form, but Carleigh chooses not to identify what happened to her by the term. "There are kids out there that get it so much worse," Carleigh told her mother, who agrees that this is just the "tip of the iceberg."
For Daryl, this is one of those times when you think you're teaching your child something, and they end up being the one to school you. "She's owning it," Daryl says. "And she's okay."
"We talked about it. And while she was upset, she told me she was going to make something good out of it," writes Daryl in the picture's caption. "I told her that I would support her. Hence, she just sent me this photo. She decided that she was going to be stronger than hurtful words on the concrete and that she was going to be proud of her figure."
"I type this with tears in my eyes," continues the proud mom. "Not tears of sadness or anger for I will never give anyone that is mean that much power. Tears of joy knowing that my daughter can face negativity with a smile and sense of humor. This will take her far in life. No perfect report card, high test score, athletic race or award could top the pride I have today."
The cherry on top of this awesome story is that Carleigh plans to incorporate the experience into her college admissions essays when the time comes. So it turns out, what started as an attempt to tear someone down is building her up--right into a fabulous college application.
The picture has almost 350 shares in under 24 hours, and we're happy to help spread Carleigh's message, too.
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