Demetria Devonne Lovato

A beautiful, sweet teenage girl whose dreams were coming true. That's what people saw in the young, Demi Lovato. When people watched her become an overnight sensation on Disney's Camp Rock, no one expected there to be such heartache behind this sweet girl's smile. Demetria Devonne Lovato was born on August 20, 1992 in Albuquerque, New Mexico to her parents Dianna Hart de la Garza and Patrick Lovato. Since her early childhood she was destined to be a star. She enrolled in piano lessons at age seven, and at the age of ten she was playing guitar and taking dance and acting lessons. Demi seemed to have everything going for her. She was adorable, talented, and ambitious. When she hit her middle school years she began to experience the down side to being wonderfully talented. She endured severe bullying in middle school and as a result of this she became emotionally ill and unstable. For the longest time it seemed as though haters won. A hero must be Determined, Emotionally-Strong, and Compassionate. People want to look up to someone who doesn't give up easily, and can connect to them. Demi possesses these traits and is a hero to all kinds of people around the world today.

Perhaps the most heroic thing about Demi Lovato is her emotional strength. Demi's earlier life was far from ideal. Demi reveals many of the disturbing details about her middle school years in an interview with PEOPLE magazine. "I was kind of bullied. I had a hate wall in the bathroom, and everyone signed a petition that said'We all hate Demi Lovato.'... She didn't understand why they were attacking her like that" Demi had to endure a very uncomfortable and cruel environment every single day. She had to wake herself up every day and just push through these difficult times. Demi didn't even know why her classmates hated her so much. In her mind, it was just fate that chose her to be'the hated one. No one could imagine how worthless and alone she must have felt. Even though she put up with the cruelty of her classmates for quite some time, everyone, even the strongest people, eventually reach their breaking point. "I've spent the past two years getting over an eating disorder and issues like self-harming and bipolar disorder. Unlike a person who doesn't have these problems, I have to work on this stuff every day. I'm reminded of that whenever I eat or feel down." Demi was unfortunately diagnosed with an eating disorder and bi-polar disorder. These illnesses were a result of the emotional trauma Demi was put through as a young teenage girl. When Demi found out she had these illnesses, she was not going to let it stop her from acheiving her dream. According to'Gale - Biography in Context' Demi checked herself into rehab in 2010. It takes an emotionally strong person to be able to go through such heartache and still have the strength to move forward. Demi was not going to let her insensitive middle school classmates define her and choose her path for her. She was going to define herself, and that's exactly what she did.

Demi's determination is exemplified in the way she lives her everyday life. Demi was looked at as the underdog. Overweight, lonely, and miserable; nobody expected her to become the shining star she is today. "Lovato earned a high school diploma through homeschooling in April 2009. She later became a spokesperson for anti-bullying organization PACER and appeared on America's Next Top Model to speak out against bullying. Lovato had suffered from eating disorders and self-mutilation of her wrists to cope with her emotions and depression. In 2006, she appeared on Prison Break and on Just Jordan the following year." Even though it seemed like whole world was against her, she refused to give up on her dream. Demi did everything she could to reach her goals and she never let anybody stop her. Demi pushed through all of her hard times to achieve the un-achievable. Nobody would've known the suffering she was going through because she always put up a good front and kept working towards her dream of stardom. When Demi's dreams came true, she continued to work towards being a better person over all. "Demi is so strong - every single day she struggles, but is working hard to become more confident: 'Mean comments don't affect me the same way [the used to] because I'm more confident. If I read something where someone calls me a b*tch, I know I'm not, so I laugh at it.'" Demi works hard to develop self confidence in order to be a good role model. Demi gave up friends, money, time, and even some of her fame to become a better and more stable person. Demi faced years and years of rejection and still found the strength to keep moving. Demi is determination at its finest.

No matter what or who, Demi shows compassion to all. But she is especially compassionate towards those who are bullied or have been bullied. Demi looks for ways to help people who have been or are in her situation. "In April 2012, Lovato became a contributing editor for Seventeen Magazine, where she discussed her personal struggles, directed towards teenage girls. In October, she was named the new Ambassador of Mean Stinks, an anti-bullying campaign focused on eliminating bullying among girls." Demi not only feels for the bullied, she genuinely wants to make a difference and put a stop to it. Demi understands people's struggles and genuinely wants to help them. Demi doesn't just help the bully victims. "As part of her involvement in the environmental organization Disney's Friends for Change, Lovato, Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus, and the Jonas Brothers recorded the charity's theme song "Send It On" in 2009." Demi does her best to reach out to everyone and make the world a better place. Compassion is something many people lack and many people want. Demi Lovato shows compassion to everybody.

Demi's determination is something you can't ignore and her emotional strength is so inspiring. Her compassion towards others makes people want to be a better person and make the world a better place. Throughout my life I have experienced bullying as well. I used to feel so alone, and I felt as though no one would notice if I was gone the next day. I felt useless, ugly, and unwanted. My classmates assured me of it. In 7th grade I began to cut myself. I was looking for an answer to get rid of the pain I was feeling inside. No one seemed to understand the heaviness I carried. When I called out for help all i got were mean stares and people minimizing the situation. People think it's easy to stop, but it's not an easy road. The pain became an addiction. It became my only comfort. It wasn't until the end of my 8th grade year when I realized happiness was a choice. I realized that by harming myself I was letting the thoughts and actions of other people define me. I am proud to say that I have gone almost a year without self-harming. I still get urges but I have enough supporters around me now to the point where I look to them for comfort instead of a blade. I look up to Demi because we both see our scars as 'battle scars' and a symbol of strength not weakness. Bullying is a big contributor to the issues of self-harm, eating disorders, and suicide. It's something that shouldn't be taken lightly. Every word you say, every look you give, has the potential of making or breaking a person. You don't know what people have been through. You don't know if a simple smile will save them or if a nasty look will kill them. When everyone understands that we are all in each other's hands, the world will be on the road to a better place.