Man Shares Apology Message His Former Bully Sent Eight Years Later

A man has shared the amazing moment his former school bully reached out to him to apologise. Getting 2019 off to a good start, here.

Twenty-four-year-old Mina Gerges from Toronto, Canada, took to Twitter to share a screenshot of a message sent to him by someone who had picked on him in school eight years prior.

The message reads: "Hey man. I just want to apologise for any fucked up things I said to you or about you in high school. It weighs on me. I hope all is well. Cheers."

Mina, who was born in Egypt and grew up in Abu Dhabi before moving to Canada aged 12, had to put up with a lot during his school years. Speaking to the Metro, he revealed that he had been 'bullied a lot' for his accent, high-pitched voice, weight and his interests in art and acting.

He added that as well as dealing with the country, and culture change, he was also coming to terms with being gay.

He went on to describe the cruel ways a group of other pupils would mock his voice or use homophobic slurs when speaking to him.

Now, years later, Mina is proud of who he is and is an LGBT advocate, but he still hadn't held any hopes for an apology from his former tormentors.

He told the Metro: "At first I was shocked to see this message since high school was almost eight years ago.

"It brought back a lot of feelings I had when I was in high school of trying so hard to belong, getting bullied for being who I am and feeling lonely for not having anyone to talk to about this, and the long journey it took me since high school to love myself despite what these bullies and my culture say about being gay."

He added that he although he was surprised to get the message he was 'so happy' that someone who had been cruel to him growing up had learnt how to be 'empathetic and compassionate' as an adult.

Since sharing the post, Mina has been inundated with responses from people who say that they would love their former bullies to follow suit.

Others responded to say that they had received similar messages from people who picked on them in the past.

Oh, and if you're wondering how Mina responded to the guy who messaged to apologise, you probably won't be surprised to hear that he was very polite. He thanked him and the pair struck up a conversation, with Mina asking what it was that had prompted the message after all this time.

"He told me that it'd been weighing on his conscience for a while," Mina explained. "And that he'd wished he'd apologised sooner and that even though he can't undo his actions or their impact on me, that he hopes that owning up to his actions and this apology and will help me heal.

"He also said he was thankful that I accepted his apology after all these years, and that he's always open to chat more if I'd like to."

How nice is that, eh?

Topics: Viral, Inspirational, Feels

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at LADbible who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats. You can contact Claire at [email protected]

@ClaireReid19