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"Emotionally, I became a depressed mess, especially because both my father and my older brother were serving in active combat zones in Vietnam. I became friends with all the unpopular kids and refused to bully anyone else just to move myself up the social ladder, so I became the target instead. Eventually, we reached high school, and things began to change. I started making friends again and became an award-winning debater. Two important things happened during our senior year. The first was when one of the guys who had bullied me the most approached me in the quad during lunch. He stopped me, and I stood there cautiously. 'I’m sorry for how I treated you during middle school. I was a piece of dog crap.' He looked genuinely miserable. 'Why?' I asked. 'Why did you lead the other boys against me?' He told me, 'My dad was in Vietnam too, but I was ashamed of him because of all the talk. But you? You were proud of your dad and brother for serving in an unpopular war. You never apologized for them. You told funny stories about exchanging reel-to-reel tapes with your dad and read letters to everyone from your brother, who was stationed on an aircraft carrier. Then you turned your valedictorian speech into a message about how horrible war is for everyone — the civilians, the soldiers, and their families. You managed to criticize the Vietnam War without attacking a single person who served in it. I resented you for that.' When I asked why he was apologizing then, he explained that his AA sponsor had told him making amends was part of recovery. He had just turned 18 and was already struggling with alcoholism. I told him I wished him all the luck in the world and accepted his apology without reservation."

"When she got out, two weeks before my wedding, I got an Instagram DM from the old bully (my best friend's old friend) asking if she could call me. I hadn't spoken to her in over a decade, but I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. Her profile said she was a cancer survivor, a yoga instructor, and a nurse, so I gave her my number. When she called, she told me that my best friend had overdosed and was in the hospital. She said she was the nurse caring for her in the hospital and admitted she was risking violating HIPAA because she felt I needed to know. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. My bully became a nurse? My best friend was in the hospital? What was reality? But she was telling the truth. It was the worst experience of my life, and it still haunts me to this day. My bully eventually apologized for everything she had put me through, explaining that she'd had a very difficult upbringing. But it was the most painful full-circle moment of my life, especially seeing my best friend continue to go through such sturggles, and my bully coming out the other side of it."

"The teacher continued being cruel to me. She even made comments about my mom in class. I told my parents, and my mom contacted the school, but the teacher was still mean to me afterward. Years later, that same teacher came through my line at the service counter of a large store where I worked. She needed to cash a check, and I saw her name on her ID. I immediately recognized her and told her she had been my teacher, and she was one of the meanest people I had ever met. I reminded her of how she had humiliated me, what she had said, and what she had done. Her face turned red. She made a comment about the 'poor customer service' I was providing. I refused to serve her and walked away."

Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.