The Spirit of My Heart

My mom was a varsity cheer coach for the local high school when I was young and I grew up on a football field. I had a uniform made especially for me and went to my very first cheer camp at just one year of age. So naturally I dreamt of being a high school cheerleader growing up. Unfortunately my experience was nothing like I had expected. It was brutal and one of the toughest things I've had to go through as a teenager. Being bullied and isolated, not only by fellow students, but fellow team members was truly heartbreaking. However, I was able to find a way to get through the storm and find my rainbow. Through my journey, I found strength in telling my story and talking to other kids who have also been affected by bullying. I even created my own anti-bullying curriculum with an interactive journal I published at just 14 years of age! The journal not only helps to open that communication between students and teachers, but also provides the tools to open dialogues between student to student and student to parents.

One of the greatest gifts throughout all of this was the incredible staff at my high school,All my love and appreciation to Mrs. Pelmear for listening to all my problems and making my tears turn to laughter in your counseling office, to Mrs. Rodrigues (KROD) not only for always having a place for me to eat at lunch when I was alone, but also allowing me to be as dramatic as I needed to be in the little theater, to Mrs. Forbes for always lifting me up and letting me stay a few minutes extra at your desk before heading back to class and to Mr. Griffin who never stopped believing in me, always pushing me to be more and never allowing me to feel sorry for myself. To Mr. and Mrs. Foster thanks for taking a chance on me and letting me get my paws wet as Spike. Last, but definitely not least, to Sebastian (aka Bastian) for always being my person, without you high school would have been unbearable.

This story is all about me and what I dealt with in school, but for me it's more than that. It's finding myself, while being in a big ol' smelly mascot suit. It's about being able to put on a mask and discovering my true self and it's about allowing myself to take that mask off and be truly unapologetic to myself. This empowerment allowed me to reach new heights as Miss Teen California 2018 and Miss California High School 2020. Remember to never change who you are to fit it, never allow someone to cast a shadow on your light and always allow the