I began getting bullied in school and in the after-school program on school grounds when I was in 4th grade, however I never told anyone, not even my parents. It began by a boy calling me a “girl” because I dance ballet. This is not only bullying, but harassment because this bully was questioning my gender. He continued to say, “only girls dance”, insinuating that since I was a dancer, I must be a “girl”. He would pick on me because of the clothes I would wear (fashion forward) and how I chose to style my hair. It started with hurtful words, words that hurt my feelings. Then, he began to shove me here and there and slap me in the back of the head. Summer came, and I was so happy because I knew I wouldn’t have to see him outside of school. But soon enough school was back in session. In the beginning of my 5th grade school year, the bullying increased. It went from hurtful words to increased physical bullying. He shoved me more often and slapped me more often. The day that my parents finally found out what was going on was the last Friday in October of 2016. During the aftercare program at my elementary school, we were playing limbo and he took the opportunity to slap me across the face so hard I was thrown to the ground. I remember one of the aides coming over to me, asking if I was ok and then taking me to get ice down the hall. By the time my dad arrived, the redness on my cheek had cleared up, no one told him what happened, we walked out in rush to get home to start the busy weekend. On the drive home I told my dad what happened.

During one of the many conversations with my mom and dad, I said “I’m just being me, I don’t understand??  I’m being uniquely me! That’s it, for now on I will use the has tag #beuniqelyyou to encourage myself and everyone else that reads it that it’s ok to be unique, not fit into a mold, think differently, look different, not fit into the ‘norm’, what is that anyway?”.  A month later, (almost three years ago) I created the logo for #beuniquelyyou, drawing it freehand one day after school.  From that day on, I have been using #beuniquelyyou on social media; I started ironing it on my shirts with my logo, anything to remind me that it’s awesome being just me!  In November 2018, my store’s website went live, www.beuniquelyyou.me  a custom clothing and accessories brand, all designed by me.

My message is clear….Be true to who you are, always choose to be kind, and stand up for what you believe. Be a world changer!