“It didn’t matter what others thought of me as long as I liked who I was.”
Towards the end of the eighth grade I started to love who I was. The people I was hanging out with started making me feel better about myself. They really helped me love myself, and they told me not to listen to other people who didn’t care about me because they didn’t know who I was. My mom also helped a lot when I was experiencing bullying because she witnessed the process. In Lady Gaga’s song “Born This Way,” she said she was getting bullied at a young age and, “My Mama told me when I was young, we’re all born superstars.” I focused on this specific part of the lyrics because my mom is a very important person in my life. My mom told me that it didn’t matter how you looked on the outside. If the person you were on the inside was beautiful, that was all that mattered. She told me I was such an “incredible and intelligent young woman.” It didn’t matter what others thought of me as long as I liked who I was.
When I could finally understand what was happening, I realized that I didn’t need to look a certain way. I started to love myself more and more and realized that I didn’t need to look how others wanted me to look. Even though I sometimes would still get called “fat,” I was getting used to it. I started to be okay with who I looked like and who I was. I understood that everyone was different. Everyone looked and acted a certain way, and they were all beautiful. I started to understand more that I could be myself and realized that I didn’t need to look how everyone wanted me to look or act. I started to love who I was. Gaga repeats, “I was born this way,” and, “God makes no mistakes.” I started to feel less trapped. I felt like I was breaking free, and that I could be who I wanted to be, especially since I was soon to be a freshman in high school. It was going to be a whole different school with different people; the people that I knew before, I probably wouldn’t see or talk to again.
Lady Gaga not only talked about people who were bullied, but also people with disabilities, transgender people, etc. In our community, there are many people who struggle with not “fitting in.” Gaga says that everyone should love themselves because you can’t change who you are, to love yourself and embrace who you are, because you’re beautiful that way and God makes no mistakes.
About the Author
Yozabeth N. was born in Puebla, Mexico, immigrating to the U.S when she was four. She grew up in Los Angeles, California, and is the oldest of three children. Yozabeth N. has learned that she can overcome anything no matter the situation, and wants her readers to learn that they are beautiful in their own way, even if other people do not agree.
About the Book- Sounds of Freedom: Beats on Concrete
This year’s Young Authors Book Project was inspired by the sounds and lyrics that have sharpened visions of freedom throughout generations. Beginning in February 2019, 826LA partnered with two teachers at Manual Arts High School and their classes to write personal essays guided by the question, “What makes you feel free?” Using their own music selections, this year’s authors wrote essays about how freedom or the journey to find freedom impacts their lives. The 2019 Young Authors’ Book Project resulted in the publication of Sounds of Freedom: Beats on Concrete.
Beats on Concrete: Sounds of Freedom will be available for purchase soon at the Time Travel Mart.