Disclaimer- All these beautifully written characters belong to Rick Riordan and not me. AN is at the end.
To the bullies- Oh man, I feel bad for you, I really do. What happened to you that made you think that making other people feel even worse than you do was a good idea? People that could have been your friends, who could have helped you, have been forever changed because of how you treated them. How you treated us. Maybe because we're different, because we're misfits, we don't belong. But here's a secret- we're also the people who get somewhere in life. If you think for a second that you understand us or that you're any better than us, then you really are as dumb as you look. But one day, when we've made it big, when we're celebrities or the heads of some business or even Greek heroes, we'll see what you have to say then. But for now, you've made us stronger, taught us to deal with haters. And for that, I say thank you.
~Percy Jackson
To the strict teachers- School is stressful, we all know that. I've lost hours of sleep studying and working on projects. Will I ever use this in the future? Maybe, maybe not. But regardless, whether you liked me or not (and believe me, even the best students fail the occasional test and have those few teachers that hate us) you helped me get where I am today. You worked just as hard as I did to help me reach my full potential. When you think about it, you really are a victim too since so many students hate you for simply doing your job. So, I say thank you.
~Annabeth Chase
To the fat and ugly-shamers- Beauty isn't everything. In fact, it shouldn't matter at all. In a world full of Hollywood stars and super models, yeah, I get that there's pressure to look good. But that doesn't mean you should make anyone else feel ugly. No one is ugly or fat or stupid. Everyone is their own kind of beautiful. And if you can't be beautiful on the inside, the no one's going to care if you're "beautiful" on the outside. People like you remind us that what really makes us attractive is who we are as a person. For this, I say thank you.
~Piper McLean
To the cool kids- Congrats. Some of us can say this personally, some of us can't, but we all know it takes a lot to rise to the top. But don't let the "power" get to you. Be a good person, use your status to stand up for people and make your community- may it be a school, a club, a camp, or anything else. If you let all of these horrible things happen under your nose, then are you really much better than the people doing these things? Treat the people who aren't as "cool" well, include us, and don't let yourself become one of the stereotypical populars we hear about all the time in media. If you can't do this, then we guarantee you that you won't be as popular later in life, but the people you looked down on will be at the top. In advance, we say thank you.
~Jason Grace and Frank Zhang
To the heartbreakers- If you're not going to treat someone well, maybe they don't deserve to be with someone like you in the first place. No matter how you hurt us, you did and if you can't feel even a twinge of regret, then who wants to be with you anyways? It's not funny to lead someone on or fake feelings or ask someone out as a joke. But look, I understand that sometimes you can break someone's heart without meaning to. In that case, learn from what you could have done to avoid it, but what happened has happened. If we're meant to be just friends, that's fine. No matter who you are, you put us through weeks and weeks of crying and feeling like we'll never be good enough. But you know what it did? It made us realize we're so much better, that we don't need someone else to make us feel loved. Therefore, I thank you.
~Reyna Avila RamÃrez-Arellano
To the homophobic- I'm sure you have your reasons. Maybe it's your religion or just the way you were raised. But news flash! Thousands of religious people all over the world accept us for who we are. Even more people accept us despite how they were raised. So what makes you any different? Why should we be a minority? We've never heard of anyone being persecuted for being straight and cis. If you can't love us for who we are and who we love, then that's not our problem. In the end, all your taunting and abuse just reminds us not to take things for granted and gave us just a little bit more fight inside of us. For this, we say thank you.
~Alex Fierro, Magnus Chase, Nico di Angelo, Will Solace, and Apollo
To the racist- Really, wake up already. It's not 1700 anymore. Every single one of us was born equal and the way we look should do absolutely nothing to determine how you treat us. "Blacks are filthy, Mixed Race people are disgusting, Asians have no social life, Hispanics are dumb, Muslims are terrorists", and the list goes on. Every judgemental look or ridiculous stereotype, even if it's a joke, really isn't doing you any good. For all you know, you may appear a certain race but have totally mixed heritage. Our race and religion do not define us as more or less worthy. You taught us to stick together and to never judge a book by its cover. So, from the ones you bring down, we say thank you.
~ Carter and Sadie Kane, Hazel Levesque, and Samirah al-Abbas
To YOU- Hi. I've seen many people across the media sending out messages like these, and I decided to do my own spin on one. This Thanksgiving, I want you to be thankful not only for those who love you, but those who made you stronger. There are many, many characters I could have added to this, and most of the characters I did include fit into more than one category of victims. That's the beauty of Rick Riordan's characters- we can see ourselves inside so many of them. Perhaps you're like them and can identify with many of what was addressed, perhaps you fit into none but feel empathy, or even, perhaps you might even be a member of one of the groups addressed. Regardless of this, I hope that while you were reading this, you felt something stir inside of you. We see all these messages to not take all the negativity going on, but how many of us can say that we're completely free of hate towards or from a certain group. Don't be afraid. Stand up for yourself, fight for that extra point on your math test, defend your friends and family. Be strong enough to be able to laugh in people's faces and instead of taking what they give you, thank them for making you stronger. No matter who you are, what you may be going through, or how you feel, you are strong. You are beautiful. You are amazing. And don't you dare ever forget it. For taking the time to read what I have to say and for simply just being you, I say thank you.
~bethechange1011
