Author provides mental health resources for children

“When I was younger, I was bullied a lot,” Makayla Nichols said.

The 24-year-old mentor and writer said “high school was terrible.”

She said she used to look forward to dinner hoping to make a friend, but the kids literally moved when she sat down with them.

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“I remember one kid crumpled up his chips and dumped them on my head,” Nichols said.

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Nichols said the girl continued to taunt her.

“She’s like, ‘Well, since you’re not eating chips, you can wear them,'” she said.

Nichols said this happened shortly after she started modeling and she was on a different diet than some of her classmates.

She told Florida Fourth Estate hosts Matt Austin and Ginger Gadsden that she was traumatized by the experience, but didn’t tell her parents because she didn’t want to break their hearts.

But she found a friend in her Latin teacher and had lunch in her class every day.

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Nichols eventually said she found friends her own age.

“I went and hung out with kids who, you know, might have been rejected or felt a little different,” Nichols said. “I mean, I remember I was just looking for people who felt a little different than me and hanging out with them and saying, ‘I don’t care what these popular kids say about me or what I do,’ because it was, it literally became like me – and not to say that I am against them – but I thought: “I’m not going to let them, you know, ruin my day.”

Nichols said that instead of getting angry, she decided to find people who appreciate her.

Now Nichols is using her experience to help other children in similar situations with her Frankly Honest foundation.

She said she spends a lot of time at school.

“The coolest thing about the foundation is that because I’m young – I’m 25 years old – I can go and talk to these kids and talk to them like their big sister. And it’s not like Mom or Dad is talking to you. It’s like, “Okay, let’s talk about mental health. Let’s talk about bullying, let’s talk about body image so that I can get through to them, but also kind of encourage them to go and, you know, get therapy or talk to their parents or teachers.”

She also uses technology to reach people.

“I have a series of podcasts where I interview different celebrities and really talk about their own stories because ultimately I want to help keep the conversation going and let them know they are not alone because I think that the hardest part of dealing with these issues is feeling like you know the world is against me when it really isn’t, and a lot of other people are experiencing that sort of thing,” Nichols said.

She also has coloring books that fight bullying and promote body positivity.

Her book Frankly Honest: Normal Teen, Abnormal Life is also available for people seeking resources.

You can hear more from Nichols about the Florida Fourth Estate. It is available on all podcast platforms. You can also watch it anytime on News 6+.

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