U.S. Singer/songwriter Meredith O’Connor, aged 18, has been in Athens since Tuesday. She is here on a mission to visit schools in Attica, where Athens is located, in order to talk about bullying as part of a program broadcast on the YouSmile digital platform to be set up by the Greek children’s charity ‘Smile of the Child’ on April 4.

In an interview on the digital platform on Tuesday, the anti-bullying spokeswoman shared her own experiences as a bullied teen in junior high school and onwards because she was different and didn’t “fit in”. She stresses the need for kids to love themselves and find inner strength within.

On a more positive note she said that her life started to improve when she became known for her music and started getting treated more politely. Until then, she states that she was the “most hated kid in school”.

She described how she sought help in therapy and managed to overcome some of the trauma though she still suffered from some phobias.

The young artist has written songs specifically about bullying and the need to accept people who are different. Greece is just one pitstop in her world tour against bullying that includes visits to Australia and Singapore.