When Molly Burke was 14, she went blind.
At the same time, she went from being a popular girl at school to becoming the target of bullies.
"Not only was I going from the popular girl to the loser at school, I was going from being sighted to blind, going from being a happy kid to being depressed," Burke told CTV's Canada AM on Wednesday.
Today, she is sharing her story about being bullied as part of Pink Shirt Day.
The #PinkShirtDay movement started in Nova Scotia when two high school students organized a protest to wear pink to stand up for a Grade 9 student who was being bullied for wearing a pink shirt.
Canadians are encouraged to wear a pink shirt on Feb. 24 to symbolize that they do not tolerate bullying.
When Burke transferred to a school for the blind, the Oakville, Ont. teen thought the bullying would end. But it didn't.
"Theoretically I should have fit in, because they're just like me," she recalled. "I don't stick out in any obvious way, but I continued to be bullied."
That's when Burke, now 22, realized that the bullying really wasn't about her.
"It truly is something inside of these people," she said.
Burke, who now works as a motivational speaker, said Pink Shirt Day is a great opportunity to show bullying victims that they're not alone.
"It's a day to show the victims…I'm standing here with you, even if I don't have the strength to stand up for you," she said.
Her message to those who are the target of bullies is simple: You're not alone as you feel.
"You will get through this, it does end," she said. "You just need to find that hope and the strength to pull through and your life will get better."
