Shane Koyczan was bullied a lot when he was a kid. So he took that pain and made this stunning video – a spoken poem.  It’s powerful and confronting. Its passionate and beautiful.

• At 1:10, he talks about the unfair question grown-ups always asked when we were kids.
• At 1:41, he walks through his career choices.
• At 2:11, some adults tell him something awful.
• At 3:00, he decides on an impossible career.
• At 3:48, he blows my mind.
• At 4:50, he quotes an line from a cartoon. I never knew how epic that line was.
• At 6:00, the audience realizes something tragic and funny.
• At 7:36, he rips my heart out.
• At 8:41, something awful is said.
• At 9:15, he preaches the truth.
• At 10:00, he has a message to every kid who was ever bullied.
• At 10:49, you have to do what he says.
• At 11:28, he gets to the beautiful, beautiful point. And everybody gives him a standing ovation.

So if you’ve ever been bullied (and I was) then take heart from what Shane says. If you can’t see anything beautiful in yourself then use another mirror. Look harder. Stare longer. And adults were wrong when they said that “sticks and stones might break your bones but names would never hurt you”. Words can hurt deeply. But … the people that threw around those words have to be wrong because why else would you be here. Why else would something inside you push you to keep trying. And why would God have created just you with your unique personality, talents and gifts. You are not what you were called. You are beautiful for everything that God creates is good !

And to bullies out there – may you be challenged to use your tongue and words to build up not tear down. To magnify not diminish. To encourage not ridicule. To compliment not criticise. To not have to make yourself feel better by making others feel worse. As you grow up and mature you’ll realise that that is one of the marks of real strength and character.

And if you have dreams, then don’t let anyone define to you what they can be. Like Shane points out – so often we’re asked what we want to do or be. And then when we dare share those precious personal thoughts and dreams, we are so often shot down and told they are impossible, foolish, stupid, impractical, unrealistic. We are told what we can’t be or can’t do, instead of what we can be or can do. We are asked to accept the identity others want to give us or asked to accept their own limitations of what’s possible. Show me anyone who has achieved something great and left a mark on this life and I will show you someone who refused to be limited by what others told them. Instead they trod their own path … and the rest is history. May you be encouraged to do the same.