Hello,
I wanted to share my daughters story with you. Her name is Camille and she is 14 and a 8th grader here in Illinois. Camille is a all-star cheerleader at Layton Athletics and she cheers for her Middle school as well. Here is Camille’s story. At the age of about 9 I find a bald spot on her head at first I thought nothing of it then a few days latter that spot got bigger and I noticed other spots as well. I took her to a few doctors who all had something different to say; some said stress some said it was all the hair product that I put in her hair etc. I researched it on line and found out that Camille has Alopecia. It is a auto immune disease that causes your hair to fall out; they don’t know why, it’s not life threating and her hair could or could not come back. In the 6th grade she lost 1 and half of her eyebrows. In the 7th grade the bullying started! She was called names like Freak and hairless cat, she was told that no boys would ever like her or date her because she was a freak and ugly with no eyebrows! They would bump her in the hall and laugh and meow as she walked by. The sad part of this whole thing was that these girls were once her friends these were kids she went to grade school with! Camille went into a hole that these bullies dug for her and she would not come out! She quit cheer, she wouldn’t eat or talk she would just cry all the time! Nothing we said to her helped! She missed a lot of school and she took pride in school she was a straight A student; nothing mattered to her! She told me she wanted to kill herself! That was it I had to do something to pull her out of that hole. It took months and months to get her out! She was looking forward to her 8th grade year; her last year in middle school. She thought that maybe the bullies forgot all about her but NO they did not and this year there were more of them. They bullied her at school and at the football games! This time however Camille fought back. She went to her vice principle to tell him what was happening and nothing was done. They had to go to counseling together and those bullies laughed about it afterwards. They even said to her “umm Camille we don’t get into trouble WE rule this school“! Well she was not happy with that at all and wrote a 3 page letter to our school super indent and told him how upset she was at the way the school handled her bulling! He came and talked to Camille and told her how proud he was of here that she not only stood up to her bullies but to the school as well. He also saw her Dare to be Different page and told her how inspiring it was! Now let me get to her page. When all of this was going down; the bullying that is Camille created a page on Sept. 24 called Dare to Be Different. She needed a place to vent and heal and boy did she vent! Everyday she was getting likes on her page and kids were commenting her or sending her messages and the more she received those messages the stronger she was becoming. I couldn’t believe it her page was empowering not just her but so many others! Kids and adults from all over the country and United Kingdom, Australia etc! She had parents who’s children have Alopecia telling her how Camille is inspiring them to be strong! She has met so many kids through her page all asking for her advise! She has spoken to 4 different cheer gyms and I tell ya there wasn’t a dry eye in that room! Camille told it like it is! Your words hurt people; your word could be the last word that girl or boy ever hears are you prepared for that can you live with yourself knowing that you bullied someone into killing themselves! That’s some of what my 14 year old daughter said to these girls; or one word can save a girl or boys life! So think about what you are going to say before you say it! If you go along with your friends because you are afraid to stand up that makes you worse then the bullies! Camille’s words were very powerful and I know that it sunk in. Here standing before them is a average teenager who is pretty and smart and was pushed over the edge by words! When she was done a girl asked her what made you change Camille, how did you do it how did you get yourself out she looked at me and cried and said my MOM she wouldn’t leave me alone!! So with laughter and tears that’s how she ended her talk! Some of the girls took her aside and said to her Camille I’m 17 and I get bullied for being over weight listening to you and seeing that you are strong I know I can stand up too! She was so excited that she is making a difference at the age of 14! She has spoken to a few gyms in our area, been interviewed by our local on-line radio station and has been to two Charity Events; one that she shared her story with. She has been invited to Ohio to speak to a Middle School there; this will be her first road trip of many I’m sure! She knows now what her path is….to help educate not just the ones being bullied but the ones that are the bullies! They need to hear it from one of their own to hear her words to feel and see her pain when she speaks that is so much more powerful then just you or I speaking to these kids. Camille went through hell and back and is standing tall…she fought her bullies and fought her school! She took something negative and ugly that happened to her and turned it into something Positive and beautiful not just for herself but for every child that feels “different”. Camille is now a Jr. Ambassador for the Cheerleading Agency, Marlowe Middle school and Global Alopecia Mission(GAM). She created a shirt, sweatshirt and sweatpants that say Dare to be Different on the front and the back says Bully Free. She is selling them and the proceeds all go to GAM to help them find a cure for Alopecia. She says that she wants them to find a cure so all the little boys and girls who have Alopecia don’t have to go through what she did and get called names like freak and hairless cat. So far she has raised about $700.00 her goal is $2000.00! She now sells cheer bows that say Dare to Be Different and part of the proceeds will also go to GAM! She is very excited about that! She says we are all different in our own way and that’s ok but it is not ok to bully someone because they are different. Her goal is to travel and speak to as many kids/teenagers as she can and help raise awareness about anti bullying and Dare to Be Different! She is Miss Teen McHenry County and will be in a pageant on March 3rd running for Miss Teen Illinois International. Her platform is her Dare to be different and she is so excited to share this with all the pageant girls! She can now speak to kids and teens not just as Dare but as miss Teen McHenry county and this will show girls that yes I’m different and I was bullied but I rose above it and look at me now; I took back my power and said enough and followed my dreams! Camille’s hair is thinning out once again and she does have spots that she has learned to cover up with her long hair. She does know that at anytime her hair can fall out again but she is ready and has embraced her Alopecia! It feels good to have my daughter back and the world is at her feet! Thank you so much for reading my long winded letter! Her link is www.facebook.com/camille.paddock