(COLORADO SPRINGS) — Southern Colorado is home to thousands of military families, and many face challenges while living overseas. For one local family, bullying became part of that experience, but now, their son is turning it into a message of hope.
While most high schoolers spend their summer hanging out with friends or working a part-time job, 17-year-old Samuel Miller is reading his self-published book “From Bully to Friend” at youth centers across the region.
“I’ve been able to do a reading at the Cheyenne Mountain Elementary School, and I read to about four classes,” Samuel said.
Samuel’s father, Col. Seth Miller, is finishing up his military retirement assignment in Colorado Springs, but for several years, they spent time in Germany, where Samuel grew up.
“Oftentimes people say thank you for your service, and I do appreciate that, I really do, but sometimes I think in my mind, I don’t say this, but I often think, well, who you really need to thank for their service is my kids, my wife,” Col. Miller explained. “In the military, we are expected to serve, but oftentimes people don’t recognize the sacrifice of families.”
Samuel wrote his book in ninth grade at Cheyenne Mountain High School as a class assignment, but the inspiration came from his time spent overseas.
“We were stationed in Germany, a small village,” Samuel explained. “I was going to this elementary school, and not only was I a new kid, but I was also the only American besides my brother. I didn’t know the language, and I didn’t know much of the culture, so because we were outsiders and I feel like people didn’t really understand us, I was bullied.”
Samuel learned many lessons from that experience, which he put in his book From Bully to Friend, and it is available on Amazon for $8.99. The book’s message is to treat others the way you want to be treated.
“My parents, they always reminded me that what people say or what people think about you, does not define you,” Samuel said.
It’s a message Samuel carries with him every day, but he also wants to help others who don’t have a voice.
This summer, Samuel is also interning with the Equal Justice Initiative, a non-profit organization based in Alabama that provides legal representation to prisoners who may have been wrongly convicted.
“I read the book, ‘Just Mercy’ from Bryan Stevenson, and I fell in love with his work and the accomplishments of Mr. Stevenson, and from that point I knew that I wanted to do something similar with my life,” Samuel explained.
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