Derek Hough has opened up about the bullying that he went through as a child. He might be in demand on the "Dancing with the Stars," but it looks like the same could not be said about his childhood.
It took him years to finally gain his confidence back, the one that he has been quite known for on the dance floor.
He told PEOPLE during the 10th annual GLSEN Respect Awards last Friday, which also honored Julia Roberts with a humanitarian award, that he was viciously bullied as he grew up in Utah. "I was punched in the face, pretty aggressively in the stomach," the professional dancer shared. "I was tied up in trees and left in fields."
To this day, Derek Hough still has trouble grasping why he was singled out and targeted by his neighbors and schoolmates. However, he does believe that the answer lies within the bullies' lack of self-esteem.
"That's the question: Why me?" said the 29-year-old dancer. "Why is this happening to me? What have I done? It's not because of anything other than the people doing it aren't happy with themselves. They don't love who they are. They don't know who they are."
He may not have completely forgotten his painful past, but he said that the biggest step he had to take was to let go. "I've learned that I can't have control over the outside," Derek Hough said. "'I want this person to respect me. I want this person to like me.' It's really just loving who you are and being true to who you are."
Still, despite his unfortunate past, he was able to go beyond it and forgive the people who hurt him. "When I was bullied, it was very physical. It was very aggressive and it was something that, as I got older, I definitely forgave," he said. "I think that when you're forgiving, you're for giving."
