It was one thing when your family didn't stand up for you when you're mistreated only because you're just a girl. But it was another thing when your friends who turned into family did it. It was embarrassing.

That's exactly how I felt. Embarrassed and humiliated. My friends stood up for me when uncle John had came to the Bellas house to cause a scene.

Don't get me wrong. I'm grateful for my friends. And their words of encouragement had touched me deeply. I just wished that those words had come from my family.

I couldn't help it I was born a girl. I loved being a girl. It was just that my family treated me like a second hand human being.

The disappointed looks on my parents face whenever I accomplished something hurt me more than every word that uncle John had ever said to me. But what hurt the most were my fathers words.

"You did a great job. But truth is you're just a girl."

"Why would I be proud of you? One day you'll get married and our last name won't be associated with you."

Those were the things he said to me for as long as I could remember. My mother never went against him when he said things like that. It only made me feel more alone. After I was born my parents decided not to have anymore kids so I didn't have anyone I could share my feelings with.

Despite everything that my father or uncle said to me I didn't hate them. Even if they hated me, they were still my family. And it was just not in my character to hate anyone.

I couldn't even remember that I ever hated anyone in my life. Or got angry. I never yelled at anyone in my life. Somehow I always saw something positive in everyone I ever met.

That was one of the reasons why my friends words hurt me. I knew that they wanted me to stand up for myself but it was something I could never do. I'd rather be hurt myself than ever hurt anyone else with my words or actions.

After this eventful day I lay in my bed. I couldn't sleep and my uncle's words kept going through my head. Maybe he was right. Maybe I wasn't worth the name Smith because I was just a girl.

For every mean thing he and my father had ever said to me, the positive words my friends told me came back. The more I thought about it the more I knew my friends were right.

So I was a girl. That didn't mean that I wasn't worth anything. Chloe was right. Next time I would show my uncle he was wrong. I knew I would never be good enough in his eyes but I would work harder than everyone to show that I wasn't a joke.

One day I would make my entire family proud. One day my uncle would see what I was worth. One day he couldn't deny my existence. One day people would say to him that he must've been proud to have a niece like me.

I didn't know we're those sudden thoughts came from. I just knew that these new feelings boosted my self-esteem. The girls were right. It wasn't normal behaviour that my uncle displayed towards me. I was tired of living in the shadow. Tired to keep my family connections a secret. Tired to be afraid of what my family would think.

It was time to live my own life. I was a Smith and nothing could change that. There was no point in keeping secrets anymore. The a capella community wasn't that big. I didn't have any illusions that this wasn't a secret anymore. By now everyone would know who my uncle was.

I couldn't change the past. I couldn't change who my family was. But I could change how I would react in the future. Without being rude or mean I could stand up for myself. I could show the world that I knew I was worth it to be treated like a human being.

Tomorrow I would start to live again. I felt my eyes become heavy and with these new positive thoughts I fell asleep.