I was in 8th grade, and in science class I sat between two girls who relentlessly picked on me. I had a crush on one of them, so I was willing to take most of it in stride... but after a particularly hurtful hazing situation, I got fed up.
I wrote a caustic, mean-spirited note to the girl I had a crush on, stating my displeasure at being the object of her ridicule. It was 2 pages long, written on both sides. I delivered the note near the end of the school day, and watched for her reaction. I don't recall what I wrote, but I wanted to hurt her as badly as she hurt me.
But I never expected to actually succeed, which I did. She was devastated. She ran to the bathroom, sobbing. I felt about knee-high to an earthworm after that, but to my amazement, when she returned, she wrote me a heartfelt apology note, handed it to me in front of everyone, looked me square in the eye and apologized verbally.
That's when I first knew that my words carried weight.
"To be a poet is a condition, not a profession." - Robert Frost