Selena Gomez Opened Up About Bullying and Being a "Nerd" at School

It's tempting to imagine the entertainment industry's biggest celebrities springing into the world as fully formed, improbably cool adults (or teenagers), unburdened by the embarrassing childhood memories most of us are doing our best to smush down. But, as Selena Gomez revealed when discussing her school days (opens in new tab), that's very much not the case. On a new episode of her close friend Raquelle Stevens' podcast, Giving Back Generation, Gomez opened up about her experiences at school, revealing that it wasn't exactly plain sailing for her.

"I know when I was growing up, I went to school for a little bit, before I was homeschooled," Gomez said, as Hollywood Life reports. "If my cousin wasn’t the captain of the cheerleading team I would have been destroyed. Because I was just, you know, I was kind of a nerd and just hung out with like one person."

Her social life has changed a little since then, of course, as evidenced by her fellow podcast guests: good friends Ashley Cook and Courtney Lopez. And Gomez shared a little about their friendship dynamic, too. "I’m the troublemaker of the group, a little mischievous. I like to make things interesting. And I feel that’s a crucial part of friendship," she said. "I want there to be more friendships like this. I think there needs to be more."

Speaking of school: Gomez revisited her past with a trip to Danny Jones Middle School (in Mansfield, Texas) earlier this month, as People reports (opens in new tab). And she gave the students quite a surprise, telling them over the intercom, "Hello, students at Danny Jones Middle School. This is Selena Gomez talking to you." She went on to meet some of the excited students (and take a lot of selfies.)

"This trip, I wanted to take my best friend Courtney, and also some of my people from my label, just to show them where I grew up and how proud I am of where I’m from," she said. "Some of my teachers I got to see again, and they were part of my life for so long." The visit was reportedly part of an upcoming documentary about Gomez' childhood, so keep a watchful eye out for that!

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