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"It's pretty hard to live in a world where people judge you based solely off of the way you look. Ever since I was young, my parents told me that I would face difficulties in my life due to my appearance. They told me that there are individuals who would try to make me feel ashamed, embarrassed or even make my life harder. But they also told me that I would find individuals who are able to see who I really am and these are the ones I should care about.

My name is Hugh. I'm a bodybuilder and combat instructor, but sometimes I work as a bodyguard. I'm a shark barracuda, something that is not common where I live, and because of my species, people would often fear that I was aggressive, violent or even a killer. I had difficulties in making friends during my childhood and teenage years, but I wasn't alone. I did make a few friends, among them was Steve, a German Shepherd who's still my best friend.

At some point in my life, due to Steve's influence, I decided to become a bodybuilder. In the first years I had trouble finding a job, because no one wanted to hire someone with my appearance. To pay for my training, I often engaged in underground fights, which paid quite well. Even though this helped me to build a professional body, it also left some scars on my body, namely one on my right eye, which made me have to wear glasses and quit the fights.

Eventually, while I was progressing well as a bodybuilder, people would often hire me to be a bodyguard. I performed pretty well, since I had a lot of training, but people would often see me as someone who only thought about fighting. There was even an occasion where a cop stopped me in the street just because I "looked suspicious". I did not react violently and the cop let me go, but I wonder what would've happened if I wasn't as big as I was.

One day, my friend Steve called me and asked me to replace him as a P.E teacher, since he was going to be travelling for a month. I was afraid, since I didn't know how the kids would react when they saw me, but Steve helped me a lot in my life and I wanted to repay him. Then, I accepted. At first, all of the children were scared of me, except for one: Melody. She was a very cheerful white bunny who looked at me the way very few people ever did.

Melody was a very special kid. During a dodgeball game she got injured and I rushed to help her. She kept a very serene face and thanked me with the biggest smile. Her influence also made the other children less afraid of me. They even started asking me to play with them. And after school, I would particularly bond with Melody, since she had to wait for her grandmother, Celia, to pick her up. We often chatted about several topics. When Celia arrived, she would always thank me for keeping Melody company and she would give me the same expression as her granddaughter.

When my time as a substitute teacher was reaching its end, I was starting to feel depressed, since I really enjoyed my time with the kids, especially Melody, and I was afraid I would never see her, or any of the kids again. But then, on my last day, Melody hadn't come to school. The staff told me that her grandmother was in the hospital and in her last moments. I went there after class and the doctor said that Celia wanted to see me.

She was laying in the bed, still conscious, but very weak. She smiled when she saw me. She told me that she would die in a few days and that Melody had been prepared for this tragic event for some time. I was shocked to learn that Celia had updated her will and named me Melody's guardian. I asked her why she would trust me with such a big responsibility. She replied by saying that she had no other living relatives, and that while Melody was always such a cheerful girl, she would always be in an even brighter mood whenever she talked about me. Celia also told me that she saw who I really was and believed that I would be the perfect father for Melody

Celia passed away a few days after our conversation. Melody cried a bit, but then made herself feel better by saying that her grandmother would always be in her heart and that one day, they would meet again. She also said that she was not alone, because she had the best father in the world. I couldn't help but cry, and when I did, she gave me the biggest of hugs.

Having Melody in my life has helped me face my problems a lot easier. She sees me as who I really am and that's everything I've always dreamed of. Of course, I still have to deal with some mean commentaries. The most common being when people are shocked to see me walking with my daughter. She would always proudly say that I am her father and that she loves me a lot. Those people then become really embarrassed and leave. I also discovered that there are brothers and sisters who fight for a world where people like me don't have to suffer injustice. And as long as people like them, Steve and Melody exist, I will have many reasons to fight and to believe in a better life."