02/05/2026
When 11-year-old Brooke Dalton found a cruel letter from a bully in her backpack, she chose not to let it crush her. Instead, she stayed positive and answered with kindness.
Brooke is a 6th grader at Rincon Middle School in Escondido, California. For nearly four years, her family has faced homelessness. They’ve lived in motels, in their van, and now in an RV. After school one day, she opened her backpack and discovered the letter. It was written by someone who seemed to know about her family’s struggles.
“I felt really upset inside because the school year had just started. I don’t know why I would get a note like that, it’s not like they even know me,” Brooke said.
The letter called her fat, ugly, and used profanity. It accused her of having “ebola” and even said they hoped she would die. At the end, it was signed, “someone who can afford more than you.”
“How can people be so cruel to someone who hasn’t done anything?” Brooke said. “I want to ask them, ‘Why did you give me this?’ But in a way, I’m glad they did, because now I can do the right thing with it and show other kids they don’t have to let words like this hurt them.”
Though the note was harsh and her family’s situation is tough, Brooke says she deeply respects and admires her mother.
“I felt it was really personal because my mom works so hard to support us. She’s doing two jobs,” Brooke explained.
“We already go through a lot of struggles,” added Brooke’s mom. “It almost felt like whoever wrote that letter knew.”
Instead of letting the experience fill her with anger, Brooke chose to turn it into something good. She wanted to encourage kindness and help other kids who face bullying.
On her family’s van, which drops her off at school, Brooke wrote messages like “Spread Kindness,” “I Am Strong,” and “Bully Back Off.”
“No matter how many times I get bullied, I always stay positive, so other people can see they can stay positive too,” Brooke said.
The school has since taken proper action toward the student who wrote the letter.~
