Melissa Adkins remembered the belittling name her classmates called her at the Macon elementary schools she attended.

“People called me ‘upside down glasses’ because my glasses literally looked like they were upside down,” Adkins said.

The insult stung. She was humiliated.

“When you talk about social isolation, I was definitely that kid,” she said.

Now, decades later, recalling how much the ill-intended monicker upset her at that age, she laughs instead of crying.

“They kind of did look like upside down glasses,” Adkins said, adding that in hindsight she felt it set her apart from her peers. “That’s when you take the power back. That’s what I call growth. I didn’t have the tools (that) we’re trying to give you now.”

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Center for Collaborative Journalism student Mahima Sultan contributed to this report.