There’s a part of me that has found that if people are going to pick on you for being different, you can either work to blend in so you don’t get picked on any more. Or you can go the other way and be as different as you can be, just to show them you won’t be cowed against a wall forever. It’s not the same as retaliating with physical violence, but it is a giant ‘up yours’ to anyone who’s coming for you. Even if it does feel like freezing cold water running down your spine. You don’t do it for anyone else; you do it for yourself.
