The narrator of "Note to the Sixth Grade Self" gains confidence and strength throughout her story. The narrator is constantly bullied by Patricia and Cara, the popular girls at school. They turn the entire school against the narrator, leaving her to fend for herself. She is constantly put in a vulnerable position and no one will help her. Through this, he gets back on his feet and gains new confidence. The narrator realizes the harsh truth of reality, that no one will help her, when the popular girls turn everyone against them. From this she understands that her vulnerable state will not last forever, making her mentally stronger. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay While Patricia and Cara are putting the narrator down, almost no one is willing to defend her. Toward the end of the story, Eric, a boy who seemed to be the only person who empathized with her, still did not publicly defend the narrator. When Eric generously gave her a new dress after hers was torn by Patricia and Cara, "her expression tells you that despite the dress... things won't change at school... She won't come walking with you at school." go on break or sit next to you… You can see that he apologizes for it and you can choose to accept it or not” (90). Eric connects with the narrator and even buys her a gift, showing that he really cares about her. Despite this, he does not want to be ostracized by others for being close to the narrator, and the narrator realizes Eric's point of view given a choice. She can stay strong and stand up for herself or continue to let the mean girls hurt her even more. The narrator decides to stand up and stand up to her bullies in the future, unlike how she felt hurt the narrator danced with Eric, Cara and Patricia invited the narrator to go to the mall with them. What seemed like a kind gesture to the narrator turned out to be a bad joke. Arriving at the mall, the narrator waits for Patricia and Cara for almost twenty minutes. She soon realizes the true nature of the event and, in turn, tells herself that she is in "Uptown Square with your mother's credit card. Go to Maison Blanche..." (84). The narrator realizes that there is no way Patricia and Cara are coming and they have tricked her. In turn, the narrator decides that he can sulk about the problem or make the best of it by going shopping and having fun. A few weeks ago, the narrator may have burst into tears, as she almost did at the dance studio, but this time she decides to take advantage of the situation and turn it into a positive experience. The narrator gained self-confidence and strength as she did not give in as she would have previously, and instead made the best of it. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Personalize Essay Over the course of the story, the narrator grows from a shy and submissive person to someone who is strong and can defend himself. She is disappointed that no one will defend her, but chooses not to let this get her down. Instead, she begins to stand up for herself. He also begins to realize that he has to stay strong when Patricia and Cara don't show up at the mall as expected. Instead of bursting into tears as she might have done before, the narrator makes the best of the situation and has fun at the mall. There is progress in the narrator becoming more confident and emotionally strong, as.