I have been writing for a few years now, and fortunate to be able to share my work publicly. Part of putting yourself out there means you are susceptible to feedback - both positive and negative. Throughout the years, I've received slanderous insults by anonymous commenters and I find this behavior disheartening.

Being bullied from the ages of eight to 20, from kids at school spitting on me when I was in Grade 6, to girls threatening my life in my teens, I've learned to have a thick skin.

I now deflect such commentary because a decade of bullying eventually numbs you to that noise. Those who feel it just to participate in virtual bullying have so much hate and anger.

Such behaviour doesn't ever come from a place of confidence, self-love or happiness. You rarely see someone who is truly happy and content in their life exerting negative energy and insults on to others. Only hurt people, hurt people.

I am writing this because if you are someone out there, that has or may engage in malicious commentary to another person, whether it is to me or someone else, I hope you realize that your actions are not harmless.

Everyday, you make a choice to either contribute to the world or participate in destroying it. If you think that an anonymous hate comment is not a big deal, think again. Of those who are being cyber-bullied, 19% consider or have committed suicide, according to the U.S-based Cyberbullying Research Centre.

The consequences are real, even if the intentions started off as 'innocent' name-calling. Imagine, if because of your careless comment, you contributed to someone taking his or her life? Is it really worth it? You never know someone's story, what they are going through, or their mental state.

You can hate me; you can call me names and try to hurt me. But we're not that much different, you and I. After all, we're all after the same thing: love and acceptance. And just like you, I have my own story filled with my own set of self-doubt, fear, ups and downs.

I hope that the next time you feel the need to dehumanize me, or someone else for that matter, that you stop and consider if your future self would be proud of your actions.

I hope you consider where your anger is rooted from, and ask yourself if directing slander towards another is really going to help make you feel better. And if you choose to proceed anyway, for goodness sake, have the decency to at least not hide under "anonymous."