Boy Bravely Returns To School Right After Being Bullied For His Tony Stark Costume

No matter how many of us can remember being bullied when we were in school, the sad reality is that it's just as much a fact of life for today's kids as it was back then.

And while some parents have managed to nip potential bullying situations in the bud, it's common for affected kids to go without this kind of cooperation until they can finally get away from their peers.

As a result, parents can find themselves at just as much of a loss as their kids when it comes to what they can do about their bullies. And considering how much the things that happen to us as children can stay with us later in life, those unseen answers are sorely needed.

For all these reasons, one young boy's courage in the face of his own bullying episode has resonated a great deal with those who remember being in his situation and fear the same for their own children.

On October 22, 10-year-old Evan Struckman from Missouri was very excited to go to his class Halloween party.

As we can see here, this was in no small part because he was proud of how well his costume of Tony Stark from Marvel's Avengers turned out and he couldn't wait to show his classmates.

However, as his mother Jill told People, "20 minutes after he got on the bus, I got a phone call from school letting me know he was in the office and some kids had said mean things to him."

She soon learned that some kids on the bus had told Evan that everyone would think he looked stupid, which led him to wash all his makeup off as soon as he got to school.

As Struckman said, "He's normally not affected by what other people think and say... so the fact that it bothered him so badly just broke our hearts."

But this situation clearly made him afraid those kids on the bus were right, no matter how good he knew he looked.

As a result, Struckman posted this tearful photo on Facebook to show just how much the words of bullies can affect kids.

But after he and his mom regrouped at Starbucks, Evan started to build his strength back up.

While there, Struckman told him his bullies were likely jealous of what he had managed to do and asked him whether he'd let their opinions hold him back and miss his party.

After their chat, she asked him if he wanted to go back to school and he gave her an emphatic, "Yes." He had his makeup redone and returned to school with his spirits lifted again.

And while Struckman said he was a little scared upon his arrival, the positive reception he got made him "happy as could be" by the time he stepped off the bus.

Struckman also said that the school dealt with the bullies, who later apologized to Evan.

But by the time that had happened, his story had already attracted the admiration of over 250,000 people who are now in the process of sending him letters and trying to make Robert Downey Jr. aware of his story.

This attention made Struckman regret posting the photos at first, but Evan supported the decision because it shows people what it looks like to be bullied.

In Struckman's words, "Words are important. I almost didn't write 'bullying' in the post because he wasn't physically hurt, but it does hurt. Words hurt, they matter."

h/t: People

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