Shawn Mendes Posts Inspirational Anti-Bullying Message: 'You Deserve To Follow Your Heart'

Shawn Mendes has come a long way in his career, nevertheless that doesn't mean he didn't struggle before his rise to the best. The singer took to Instagram yesterday (June 23) to reminisce on how far he's come — particularly since being bullied over his love for music if he was in ninth grade.


and also a series of photographs of himself performing, Mendes wrote, "I'm thinking about being in 9th grade now. The day immediately after I posted one of my first covers onto YouTube back in 2014.. At school walking down the hallway straight into a crowd of older guys yelling out 'sing for me Shawn sing for me!' In a way that made me feel absolutely horrible... Made me feel like a joke, like what I was doing was just ridiculous & wrong."


Fortunately, Shawn didn't let what those older students mentioned stop him from pursuing his passion. Despite the fact that he was mocked for singing, Shawn had the support of his close friend and relative to keep him grounded and focused on achieving his dreams. "I had the ideal companions & the ideal parents anyone could ask for, he added. "No matter what they would never let me stop doing what I LOVED to do just because someone ELSE thought it was foolish


The "If I Can't Have You" singer's own experience with bullying taught him a critical lesson about supporting people's interests rather than building a mockery of those. And while Shawn was able to power via criticism and come out the other side as a pop superstar, others are not so lucky. "It's not joke to me," he wrote. "To make someone feel bad about doing what they love... Each and every person deserves to do what makes them feel alive. I'm writing this not only to the 15 year old kid who's scared to follow their heart because of what people might mention however also to the 50 year old who may be doing the exact same thing."


Still, Mendes acknowledged that ignoring the naysayers isn't easy. Immediately considering that, there really are a lot of people in the world who aspire to be able to see others fail. Nevertheless, his message is clear: If you're enthusiastic about something, you deserve to pursue it. "I know it's not just that easy & I'm not asking you to change your world [overnight], Nevertheless I want you to know that no matter how old you are, no matter who you are, no matter where you're from... You deserve to follow your heart. [I'm] here & i'm rooting for you."


As it turns out, there really are a lot of people rooting for Shawn, also. Camila Cabello took to the comments to commend Shawn on sharing this touching story. "This is cute she wrote. Niall Horan also commented to let the singer know that he's been through something very similar. "Couldn't relate or agree with something more if I tried," he mentioned. "... We had the last laugh." He's definitely right about that.