Demi Lovato

Demi at music awards

Overcoming Fears to Prove Herself

Not only is she a triple threat, but she is also one of the most inspiring celebrities to date. A singer, dancer, and actress Demetria Devonne “Demi” Lovato is also an activist and a selfless celebrity. Demi was born in Dallas, Texas on August 20, 1992 to Patrick Lovato and Dianna Hart de la Garza. She is of Mexican, Irish, and Italian descent. She has an older sister, Dallas Lovato, and a younger half-sister, Madison de la Garza. Demi’s musical career began very early in life, at age seven. She also began her acting career at the same age when she starred on Barney and Friends as Angela in seasons eight and nine. So how is she a hero? Her early life makes her seem like a normal little girl, albeit a bit luckier than the rest. But it hasn’t always been a happy life for Demi Lovato, some of her later life experiences are what make her unique, and my hero.

Demi showing her vulnerable side.

Courage is such a traditional hero characteristic, but it is one that Demi has a lot of. In an interview with Ellen DeGeneres, Demi revealed that she went through some painful experiences with bullying in seventh grade. Apparently the bullying was so bad, that she begged her mom to remove her from school to continue her education at home. Personally, if I was the one being bullied I would be scared to do anything in the world, but Demi was stronger. She had the courage to bottle up her negative energy and turn it into music and become something in the world. A lot of her songs are deep and talk about her bullying experiences. She also had the courage to speak out about her past. She became a spokesperson for anti-bullying organizations PACER and appeared on many popular TV shows to speak against bullying.

The photo were Demi's cut wrists were visible.

Sometimes, people forget that celebrities, like Demi, are normal people too. On screen, Demi appeared to be a happy and bubbly girl, who was excellent at acting and seemed to be living in her own perfect world. But behind the scenes, nobody knew that bullying that happened so long ago was still taking a toll on her. Demi stated on an interview with 20/20 recently that she had a “really unhealthy relationship with food” since age eight due to her previous tormentors calling her fat. She also self-mutilated her wrists to cope with her emotions and depression since age eleven. Then one day, the truth came out, in a red carpet photo, Demi’s mutilated wrists were visible which created a huge media speculation about what was going on. If I had been in the same situation, I would have been scared to go back out into the media, scared what they would think of me. But not Demi, she had the perseverance (another hero characteristic) to keep going and not care what others thought. Of course, her unhealthy habits weren’t good, but she tried to cope and be the better person.

Demi with her friends, Miley and Selena. (Google Images)

Demi is an inspiration to me because she helps so many people in the world and promotes anti-bullying. I support anti-bullying because of past-experiences, and Demi has helped me in reaching my goals in that. But more than me, Demi has personally helped a person close to my heart. One of my closest friends, let’s call her M, won insider passes to one of Demi’s concerts three years ago. M had always been suffering with depression but no one knew how far it had really gone until that night. When M met Demi, she broke down and couldn’t stop crying. Demi then took her to her dressing room where she spent three hours of her time with M. M told Demi everything she had never told anybody else, and when she was done Demi just hugged her and said something, which really changed M for the better. Afterwards, M started taking therapy for her issues and is now fully cured. We are all so thankful to Demi for making a change in M’s life. These small moments are what make Demi different from the rest of the stars; it shows that Demi has a really powerful quality, kindness, and the desire to make the world a better place.

Demi showing her support against anti-bullying.

Demi is not only an amazing musician, actress and songwriter but she is also an amazing friend. Not everything that she has done in life was good but the things that she does for others, truly shows how heroic she is. Courage, perseverance, and the ability to be kind and make someones day are truly what make her unique. I hope that one day Demi’s dreams of making the world free of bullying comes true and she finally conquers her inner demons, (which she almost has) to show everybody what she really is, a true human being.