Is there any place as impactful on your life as high school? Friends, memories, careers, and trauma all happen in one package here. Lucky folks get to experience the first 3. Some others get the short end and get dealt the 4th bit.

Bullying has never stopped being a problem, and who knows how much longer this problem is going to persist.

You might see a bit of yourself in Azzy Robinson.

The 15-year old endured relentless bullying at his school. Azzy is skinny, quiet, and has a pretty big head of hair. Not too different from most of us when we were his age, and definitely looked the part of someone a bully would go after.

Bullies thrive on seeing you miserable.

It’s the feedback that keeps them going.

In what can best be described as narcissistic, bullies rarely care about anyone besides themselves. The gratification from having ruined someone’s day is a drug to them. They get one ounce of satisfaction from it, and they keep doing it even more.

A 15-year old like Azzy would have no clue how to respond.

How would he? I wasn’t exactly a witty, thick-skinned person at 15 either.

I doubt any of us were.

This is how trauma is formed. Depression and anxiety set in. We’ve all endured it, and Azzy had to endure it too. According to his mom, he became reclusive and started losing energy. Azzy slept often and seemed like a different person.

Good thing he didn’t need to put up with much more of it.

He switched schools and got to start over.

His new school was LaVergne High School in Tennessee.

And boy, did he get the change of scenery he needed.

The students at LaVergne High School were nothing like the ones who’d made his life miserable. It was a night and day difference.

Azzy’s new classmates knew full well what he’d gone through. He’d been through a very rough time, and they were to let him know that they understood. It was time for a collective, kind gesture.

They pitched in to get him a present.

And what present would a teenage boy like more than a new pair of Nikes?

“We got you some stuff because of like, how generous you are and everything you do.” – his classmates tell him

With how sweet the gesture was, Azzy couldn’t help but cry. In fact, the sight of a crying 15-year old boy might make some of us cry too. This kid had endured so much and probably hadn’t felt kindness like this in such a long time.

“This is nothing, Azzy. With all the stuff you’ve done for everyone in this class, you deserve way more than this.” – his other classmate added

Nikes weren’t the only things they’d gotten him either.

They got him new clothes too, and the overwhelmingly sweet act made the 15-year old cry even more.

“Those tears were pure joy. [Like I was] almost proud to be me, for once.” – Azzy said

And just to be sure he got the message, his classmates and teacher all stood around him to exclaim “We love Azzy”, before giving him a group hug.

How absolutely heartwarming.

Too many young boys are thrown into cruel places and expected to deal with it just because they’re boys. Azzy’s show of vulnerability opened up the door for his classmates to help him heal, and it ended the best way possible.

Watch the video below!

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Source: Inside Edition on YouTube, William and Cliff 2011 Published in Proquest