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Names: Velasquez, Lizzie, author.
Title: Dare to be kind : how extraordinary compassion can transform our world / Lizzie Velasquez, with Catherine Avril Morris.
Description: First [edition]. | New York : Hachette Books, 2017.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017002974| ISBN 9780316272438 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781478915997 (audio download) | ISBN 9780316272452 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Kindness. | Bullying.
Classification: LCC BJ1533.K5 V45 2017 | DDC 177/.7dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017002974
Lizzie Velasquez touched me. And Im so glad she did. (Take this in the least creepiest way possible.) Her story, her strength, and her kindness are not only inspirational to me, but to millions. And to millions more! This incredible book needs to come with every bedside table, coffee table, and school desk around.
Liza Koshy, comedian and social media personality
Lizzie is a true inspiration with a powerful and positive message. In a world where anyone can be bullied online, her story and insightful advice are the perfect guide to finding your own way.
Rosanna Pansino, author of the New York Times bestseller Nerdy Nummies Cookbook
Lizzie Velasquez is proof that the only way to make a dream happen is to believe in it. No matter what anyone saysespecially the voice in your own head. She dares us to be kind to each other, love ourselves, and become the cheerleader in our own lifes story.
Lauren Zander, Co-Founder of Handel Group and author of Maybe Its You: Cut the Crap, Face Your Fears, Love Your Life
I dare to be more like Lizzie! People full of love and light are the ones that are setting the bar for all of us. Dare to Be Kind is incredible, and Im so excited to see what else is in store for this lovely lady! Spread love always.
Miles McKenna, actor, comedian and LGBTQ+ activist
Lizzies message of spreading kindness and positivity is one that speaks to all ages. I loved Dare to Be Kind!
Amymarie Gaetner, actress, dancer, and social media personality
I want to dedicate this book to anyone who has ever felt like the sun wont shine again. I hope the words on these pages give you strength, courage, and most of all, hope. There will be a day when the dark clouds clear and the sun will be shining bright.
Bullying: It sucks.
Im serious. Thats itthats all I really want or need to say on the subject: Bullying sucks!
As we address the art of kindness in this book, we must also address its counter subject: bullying. I know a thing or two about being bullied. I was bullied at school throughout my childhood, and later, I experienced unspeakable bullying online, all because I look somewhat different from your average twenty-eight-year-old. I dont want to brag, but I have pretty great hair, and I love clothes and accessories. So, stylistically, I can say Ive got it going on. But physically, Im on the smaller side kind of on the tiny side.
If you saw me out on the street, youd probably think that Im a super-skinny girl. (Ughskinny. I hate that word. When I was younger, it was always used against me as an insult.) When I visited new doctors and specialists, their first concern would be trying to figure out which eating disorder I had. As a teenager, strangers would see me and think I had extreme anorexia. They would ask my mom, Why dont you feed your daughter? Once, someone even yelled, Eat a burger! at me on the street.
I guess I can see why people might think that, but I am definitely not anorexic. In fact, I eat a lot throughout the day. I dont have an eating disorder. What I do have is a very rare syndrome.
But well get to that.
I like to think of my bullying experience in kindergarten as a big slap of reality. As a five-year-old, I had no clue how mean people could be to each other. I didnt know being mean was a thing! Id grown up with my siblings, my cousins, my parents and aunts and uncles and grandparents, and everyone just treated me like Lizzielike I was any other beloved member of the family.
Thats why going to kindergarten was such a shock. That first day, it was like there was a sign on my forehead that everyone could see except me: Dont sit by me. Dont play with me. Dont even talk to me. No one wanted to stand next to me in line. No one asked me to play with them. No matter what I did that day, I was all by myself. The most I got from the other kids were stares.
Whatever was going on, I thought surely it would go away by recess or maybe by the time we went to lunch. I had no clue it was something that would last throughout my entire elementary school career.
And that was just day one!
It wasnt just elementary school, either. In seventh grade, I was voted princess at the Homecoming Dance. I have no idea how that happenedwho nominated me, who voted for me, or how I won. What I do know is the boy who won prince did not like me. He was embarrassed by me. He didnt want to stand next to me, and when all the other couples were dancing, he refused to dance because he didnt want to dance with me. So I just sat there on the stage, in front of everyone, alone and humiliated.
The bullying continued off and on throughout middle and high school, but the worst experience of all happened when I was seventeen years old.
At that point in my life, everything was actually going pretty well. Over the years, I had made friends and built up my confidence, and it had taken me a long time to get to that point. I had a desktop computer in my room, and one afternoon I was working on my homework. I wanted to listen to some music while I worked, so I went to YouTube, which was still fairly new then. I started looking around for a song to listen to, and on the right-hand side, under Suggested Videos, something snagged my attention.
It was a thumbnaila little photo of a girl with black hair and glasses.