Demi Lovato- My Inspiration

Ever since I was young, people have always asked “Who is your role model?” Historically, leaders such as Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jr., or John Lennon have been and still are major inspirations. On the other hand, my role model is someone similar in age who, unlike most celebrities today, wasn’t afraid to admit that she was human and needed help. Not only did she seek help, she openly shared her experiences and has encouraged other teens facing the same problems seek help also. Demi Lovato was born on August 20, 1992 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She was raised in Dallas, Texas. Her career began as a 7 year old Barney star alongside her childhood and current best friend, Selena Gomez. Her career grew with her first Disney movie, Camp Rock, where she acted and sang with the Jonas Brothers in 2008. This opened doors for her and she released her first album the same year. Disney gave Demi her own show, due to popular demand, Sonny With A Chance. In 2009, her second album, Here We Go Again, was released. Plans of a “Camp Rock 2” were in motion. Demi started dating the middle Jonas Brother, Joe. Camp Rock 2 premiered in 2010, and Demi was planned to be the opening act on the 2010 Jonas Brothers tour. On October 30, 2010, Demi Lovato dropped out of the tour to “treat physical and emotional issues.” This came as a surprise to everyone. In October 2010, Demi checked into Timberline Knolls, a residential treatment center. She suffered body image issues, an eating disorder, and was diagnosed as bipolar. Several photos were released of her with cuts on her wrist. Her family and friends were concerned and were glad she was getting treatment. No one knew anything was wrong with her because it didn’t seem that way. It didn’t seem as if she was going through anything traumatic because she made the best out of what she was going through. In the past, she had spoken about bullying and how she was bullied when she was younger, but what she didn’t speak about was the effect it had on her—mentally and physically. Everyone had finally put the pieces together; she was in treatment because of her past and she was seeking help. Demi started to self-harm, and began to believe there was no reason to live anymore. “I cut myself to take my mind off that. I just didn’t care what happened. I had no fear.” (www.dailymail.co.uk) Throughout the three months she was in treatment, I realized and saw how strong she was; watching her get help and admitting she needed it influenced me and still does influence me. After hearing all the stories about what had caused her to decide to get help, everyone was ready to hear the real story. After the three months in treatment she could finally be happy and healthy and walked out of treatment with confidence. Her first interview about why she was in treatment and why she knew she needed help was on 20/20 with Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts. Hearing the story from Demi herself and watching her emotions was something I will never forget. I could feel the pain and suffering the bullies put her through. She stated, “I literally didn’t know why they were being so mean to me. And when I would ask them why, they would just say, “Well you’re fat.”’ I knew that was her goal to make an impact on the teens going through the same thing that she did. A couple of months later Demi came out with her first single, from her newest album. The song was called “Skyscraper”; I could hear her raw emotion, and her passion that she had put into that song. I could feel what that song meant to her because it meant the same to me. “You can take everything I have; you can break everything I am, like I’m made of glass, like I’m made of paper, go on and try to tear me down, I will be rising from the ground, like a skyscraper”. I will always look up to Demi Lovato knowing that I can stay strong through anything in my life because she did. She made it through the most difficult time in her life and came out a stronger and better person. She will always be my inspiration because of that.
To this day, Demi continues to spread the awareness of self-harm, eating disorders, depression, and several other emotional and physical disorders several teens may experience. “Love is louder than the pressure to be perfect.” (www.popcrush.com) After going through all of this alone, Demi is sure to emphasize the importance of knowing there is always someone to talk to or listen to her music as inspiration.