The Sing Off’s AfroBlue: “We really love to be cerebral about music”

This week on NBC’s The Sing-Off, judges Sara Bareilles, Shawn Stockman, and Ben Folds made a tough decision and eliminated one of the last remaining collegiate groups, AfroBlue. After a dueling sing-off between the crew from Howard University and the Dartmouth Aires, the show lived up to it’s name with a decision coming down to one final battle. After delivering memorable performances week after week, such as “American Girl” and “Need You Now,” AfroBlue knew they had to follow through with critiques and focus on their arrangements. Unfortunately, found themselves eliminated and exited the Top 4. Earlier today, YakkityYaks had the pleasure to participate in an exclusive call with Danielle Withers from AfroBlue to get some insight on the group’s inspiration, challenges and what they think about the top 3 groups in the competition. Read on to find out these and much more!

For details on how to vote for the Top 3, click HERE. The Sing-Off bows with its finale next Monday, November 28 at 8/7c on NBC!

__________________________________

The Yak: Hey there, how are you today?

Danielle, AfroBlue: I’m good, thanks!

The Yak: So, what made you guys do The Sing-Off?

Danielle: A few of us kept up with the show from season 1 and we were definitely into the show. We thought it would be cool to be on, but never really thought to audition or send in a tape. In the past, we were afforded the privilege to perform with legendary jazz singers, such as Take 6. Our director reconnected with Cedric from Take 6 and he remembered who we were and put in our name with casting at The Sing-Off. They saw our videos and asked us to audition. The rest is history.

The Yak: You guys had the privilege of knowing each other for some time before doing the show. How do you think that helped you week after week?

Danielle: Well, actually the group on the show was formed from members of the current class and some former members of AfroBlue. So, this was the first time we performed as a group together. Myself, Charity and Elijah have sang together in the past, but our director put us all together and we realized how well we sang as a group and brought it to the stage week after week.

The Yak: You’ve mentioned your director a couple of times. Were you able to work with her during the competition or were you not able to?

Danielle: No, we didn’t really work with her during the show. It was just us out there. As you saw on the show, there was no jazz night, so we had to arrange things freshly week after week. We were bravin’ it on our own. Our repertoire didn’t have any songs that coincided with the themes.

The Yak: Speaking of the themed nights, was one week particularly challenging for you as a group?

Danielle: Hmm, definitely rock/country week. We were familiar with “Need You Now” as a group. Even though we’re a jazz group, we listen to all kinds of music, but we don’t sing all kinds together as AfroBlue. The challenge was to be authentic and find yourselves in each piece we performed, no matter what. I was also not familiar with “American Girl,” so that was a challenge in and of itself. We took the advice of the judges from previous weeks and thought delicately about the arrangements.

The Yak: Well, I loved both of those arrangements, so well done. Have you guys heard from any of the artists you’ve covered this season?

Danielle: Oh, ya actually. We saw a tweet from Estelle the following morning praising our performance of “American Boy,” so that was really cool. We hope others saw our covers and think that we did them justice. I’d love to hear from more of them.

The Yak: You guys were one of the few groups who changed soloists almost weekly. Other than finding the right voice for the song, was there anything else that led you guys to choose a particular vocalist to perform that week?

Danielle: Basically you hit the nail on the head. It all depends on whose voice does the song most justice. We want the personality of the song shine through the voice and sometimes one person’s tone does that better than another.

The Yak: Did you have a favorite performance from the season? If so, why?

Danielle: My favorite was “Killing Me Softly.” I felt as though it were pleasing to the ear. I loved our arrangement. It really was an indicator of who we are as a group. It showed that we can be crazy and have a good time. We really love to be cerebral about music and that song did it for me. I love intricate arrangements like that.

The Yak: Sorry to have seen you guys eliminated last night, but was there any particular feedback from the judges after the show that gave you a little bit more insight into their decision?

Danielle: Nothing extra. What you saw was what they essentially said. They based their decision off the consistency of the season. We were in the bottom 2 more than Dartmouth Aires, so that made sense to us. They are an amazing and dynamic group. Michael’s vocals are amazing.

The Yak: Ya, that note during their sing-off performance blew me away.

Danielle: Haha, exactly my point! We root for each other, that’s the tricky part of this competition.

The Yak: Going into the finale next week, anyone in particular you guys are rooting for?

Danielle: Oh man, all the groups are good for different reasons. Like I said, the Aires are amazing and dynamic. I’m a huge theatre fan and I have told them that everytime I see them perform I feel like I’m watching a Broadway show. As for Urban Method, they have really cool arrangements. I can see things they do on a record. The intricacies you can hear in the background are so unique. And then Pentatonix. You know how some of the best musicians/singers are ahead of their time? That’s who they represent for me. They have the longevity in an artist that will keep them around for a while. Their attitudes are great – tongue in cheek in a really cool way. All the groups have been great.

The Yak: So you can’t commit, huh?

Danielle: Haha, nope, sorry!

The Yak: That’s OK – Before I let you go, are you allowed to give us a sneak peek into next week’s finale?

Danielle: Nope, sorry, you’ll have to tune in and see!

The Yak: Well thanks for your time. It was great talking to you. Have a great Thanksgiving.

Danielle: Thanks, same to you!

Yak Exclusive: Big Brother 13’s Shelly Speaks Out Against Bullying

As Anti-Bullying week comes to an end here at YakkityYaks, we want to be a reminder that ACTION leads to CHANGE. We hope we have gotten that across throughout the week as we have teamed up with past and present Reality TV Stars, our Forum members, and fans on Facebook and Twitter to bring an awareness to the anti-bully movement. Hopefully together, we can help put a stop to it, and help those currently stuck in the situation and in dire need of help or just someone to talk to. Just because the week is over, doesn’t mean the movement stars here. We encourage you to keep the momentum going and keep us updated on your own personal initiatives!

As one of our biggest supporters throughout this week, Big Brother’s Shelly Moore, has provided the Yak with her story as well. Shelly is probably fresh on the minds of many Big Brother fans after her time spent in the house this past summer, which housed “newbies” and alums of the game alike. Shelly is no stranger, as we previously reported, to cyber attacks after reports of threats to Shelly herself, her job and her family surfaced while she was in the house and may have lingered after. Dwelling on those experiences, among others, Shelly has joins our initiative with other reality personalities to share her story below.

____________________________________

I have never been bullied. That is a statement I can no longer make. It saddens me, it infuriates me, and it enlightens me. All too often in this world, we have the mentality of, it is not happening to me, so it can’t be that bad. It took hate, threats, jeers, and pure ugliness through the Internet, by people who hide behind sometimes clever, occasionally mean, and usually just a spur of the moment screen names for me to realize there is a problem much bigger than any of us realize. The harsh reality of “no one listens until someone dies” became more than a headline to me. I had become a statistic, obviously not one of the horrific suicides consuming young, barely a decade old children, but someone at the other end of the gun. A gun being pointed at me by people who don’t know me, but think they do through the popular TV genre called – Reality TV.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that reality TV for the most part is an edited, made for TV drama. Its sole purpose is to create entertainment, garner huge ratings and advertisers, and create water cooler talk so people, often known as fans, come back for more. It is one of the most popular forms of television today, consuming prime time slots on nearly every major network. And oh yeah, if you can’t get enough, there are marathons that play endlessly on certain channels, and even channels that play nothing but reality drama day in and day out. You can see hoarders, addicts, celebrities (that were made celebrities through reality tv), prison stays, crazy police encounters, survivors in nearly every climate and survivable condition, races, and my personal favorite…house guests. Each year a new twist on reality is spun of golden thread, given a name, a network, a crazy cast of characters and off they go. And right alongside the show comes a cast of bigger characters who evaluate, blog, analyze, argue, converse, and develop opinions that in many cases are extremely polarized. It is very rare with reality characters that you would hear the statement “he or she is alright.” Instead, the casts of these “reality shows” are either gods and goddesses or villains. There is not too much in between. You’re either a character or you’re not and to be a character you have to have the traits the audience wants to cheer or jeer. You can be classified as a god or goddess if you’re hot, entertaining, funny, charming, kind, social, look great in a bathing suit, and say and do all the things the “audience” wants you to say and do. Occasionally you can receive the highest ranking for gameplay, but it really depends on who or what or how you got there. It doesn’t matter if the entire game is set up for lies, deceit, and manipulation. If you ever once utter you hope to not play that way, get ready for the so-called fans to eat you alive. It is possible to be deemed a god or goddess and then fall from grace, just as it is possible to be a villain and have redemption. It just depends how many times you get to play the game or if the audience chooses to let you sneak by.

Next Page

Yak Exclusive: A Video Message from Survivor’s Gillian Larson about Bullying


Anti-Bullying week continues here at YakkityYaks where we have teamed up with past and present Reality TV Stars, our Forum members, and fans on Facebook and Twitter to bring an awareness to the anti-bully movement. Hopefully together, we can help put a stop to it, and help those currently stuck in the situation and in dire need of help or just someone to talk to.

Below is a video message from none other than Gillian Larson. You may remember Gillian from Survivor Gabon, the 17th season of the Survivor Reality series. Gillian is one of the most adventurous, tireless and tenacious women we have ever known, who has led her life always trying to help others. A retired nurse of 41 years, wife and grandmother, Gillian spends her time traveling and just hanging out with family and friends. Gillian’s motto? “Believe in yourself and you can achieve anything!” Heck, she applied for Survivor 15 times! How is that for being tenacious and believing in yourself! She certainly fits the bill as role-model!

She is currently participating in a 60 mile walk for the Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure this weekend! You can keep up with Gillian at her website HERE.

Listen to her video message below:
____________________________________

Anti-Bullying Week: “Triumphs Taste So Much Sweeter”

As you already know, YakkityYaks has joined forces with past and present Reality TV stars and fans just like you in honor of Anti-Bullying Week. We continue to feature stories from Reality TV personalities, members in our YakkityYaks forum, and fans from Twitter and Facebook. In an effort to join forces and increase awareness, we encourage you to share these stories with your friends and family and encourage continuous efforts to make a difference! We all are capable and we just hope that this motivates and encourages each and every one of us to take a stand and put a stop to bullying once and for all. YakkityYaks, don’t talk smack!

Read on below for another personal accounts from a fan on Twitter who felt so moved to submit their own personal and touching story, in addition to all of our other coverage today. Names have been changed to protect identities, but the stories are straight from the heart and unedited.

If you are interested in participating in our anti-bullying initiative by sharing your story, please contact JDMontgomery@yakkityyaks.com or ShellyBB13@me.com (Big Brother’s Shelly). Each and every story can bring about great change.

We also want to announce an exciting addition to our special features this week. Everyone who submits a story will be eligible to win a phone call from a reality TV personality!

___________________________________

“When I was a kid, and perhaps my young adult life, I assumed bullying had to do with being gay. I thought, only gay kids get bullied. Kind of like, how some associate racism only having to do with African-Americans. We all know both aren’t true. While many gay youth experience bullying, & many African Americans experience racism, we’re actually all prey to the predator we call, the bully.
Growing up in football loving- Midwestern Ohio, and attending private Catholic school, I experienced bullying at it’s worst. I remember what I just called “the 6th graders” (God they still scare me and I’m 30). One day running late into school I got stopped by one. The BIG one. Why the heck isn’t he in class already I thought? I’ll never forget his words that day, “listen you little faggot, we’re all watching you, if you run around here acting like a faggot or try out for basketball, I will bash your fucking face in, & kill you”.

Wow, right? Needless to say, I didn’t try out for basketball till 7th grade (when this 6th graders were 9th graders & I felt the coast was clear). Ironically one of our basketball practice drills were called ‘Suicides’. Where you ran the court back & forth four times till you just drop. It wasn’t so much my bullies words, or threats that scared me. It’s how I knew the teachers turned a blind eye, how the parents did nothing, how there was NO ONE to go to that made me feel hopeless.

On a side note, it’s a common misconception that gays, especially men, don’t like sports. Ever think we were scared or threatened out of playing? Funny how our military JUST repealed DADT, trying to scare people out of serving & protecting our great nation.

This leads me to my conclusion, that is, we are all bullied in some way, shape or form. Maybe we are the bully.  I recently read that as a child, Eminem was so severely beaten by bullies as a child he was in a coma for 5 days. I think it’s why gays were never offended by his lyrics, we knew it came from a source of pain. Heterosexuals are called faggots everyday. Young girls, who don’t even understand sexuality are called sluts & whores. I’d rather be the bullied than the bully. In a bizarre way it built character & strength, & made all my successes and triumphs taste so much sweeter. My face was never bashed in, but somewhere, lingering in the back of my mind I still think it could be.

Talk to your Mom, or Dad, or neighbor, someone you trust. Dont take matters into your own hands. It really does, as they say, “get better”, and think of things from someone else’s perspective. Who or what is that bully scared of that he or she is taunting you? That kid that threatened me? He was BIG. Overweight actually, for a 6th grader. I wonder how many times he was called ‘Fat’ on a daily basis. I wonder if he has kids now, & how as a parent he feels if his kids are being bullied. Remember, we all grow up eventually. The person you want to outcast, could be the very person who saves your life. I hope by writing this piece, I saved yours.

Ps – I grew up, have tons of friends & those days I was bullied seem like they never actually happened, but they did, & I survived.

~D.”

___________________________________

The Yak’s Interview with CBS Survivor Jim Rice and Keith Tollefson

Today the Yak was double lucky to interview both Jim Rice and Keith Tolleson. In Wednesday’s episode they became Jurors #1 and #2 after being bested by Ozzy in the Redemption Island Challenge. Both Jim and Keiths evictions were basically at the hands of their former tribemate Cochran who flipped to Upolu tribe after the merge, leaving only devastation for Savaii tribe. There bios are listed below:

[singlepic id=682 w=280 h=200 float=left]Name (Age): Jim Rice (35)
Tribe Designation: Savaii
Current Residence: Denver
Occupation: Medical Marijuana Dispenser
Personal Claim to Fame: I’ve worked on Wall Street, won over 40 poker tournaments, started several successful businesses and earned my MBA at a top five school from the University of Michigan.
Inspiration in Life: My dad. The guy rocks and is responsible for who I am.
Hobbies: Playing guitar, playing poker and anything outdoors.
Pet Peeves: Close-mindedness and disingenuous people.
3 Words to Describe You: Ambitious, magnanimous and competitive.

[singlepic id=683 w=280 h=200 float=left]Name (Age): Keith Tollefson (26)
Tribe designation: Savaii
Current residence: Edina, Minn.
Occupation: Water Treatment Tech
Personal claim to fame: I graduated college and moved to Hawaii for two years because that was my dream.
Inspiration in Life: My mom. She raised me and my sister with little help and eventually bought a house for us after saving for years. She taught me how to be a gentleman even while I was causing trouble when I was young. She instilled great morals, values and love for all those around me.
Hobbies: Surfing, swimming and long-boarding.

___________________________________

The Yak: Hi guys, thanks for speaking with us today. This question is for both of you. Looking back Jim do you think that you created a monster by saving Cochran and soliciting Keith and Whitney’s vote to blindside Elyse? Do you regret your decision?

Jim: The move to get rid of Elyse was a sound decision. Ozzy and Elyse were tight. Ozzy could have recruited Cochran and had the numbers, that’s why I chose to get rid of her. On Survivor all you know is what you know at the time, we thought of self preservation moving forward.

Keith: I tried to talk to Elyse about game and strategy. There was nothing there. Whitney also tried to talk to Elyse about the game and she got nothing back. That led us to believe that Elyse was talking game with only one person and that was Ozzy. You could even see it in one of her interviews. She stated that she and Ozzy’s strategy was the same. She basically had no concept of the game so we felt that it was our best bet.

The Yak: This is anti-bullying week and we at Yakkity Yaks want to know if you have any stories, quotes, or thoughts about bullying?

Jim: I find it interesting that it’s anti-bullying week. Yes I do have something to say about that. The theme of bullying comes up a lot in the context of Survivor. Upolu looked at Cochran and assumed that he’d been bullied by our Savaii tribe without even knowing. It bothers me that any one of us could be considered a bully. You saw how upset Whitney was at tribal council when she said we had been “villainized.” This upsets me.

Keith: Coach’s propoganda made us out to be bullies. This was a smart play by Coach. I considered Cochran a friend, well not anymore, lol. They showed no bullying on the show because there was never any bullying!. Cochrane himself said he flipped for self-preservation not because of any supposed bullying.

The Yak: Jim since you’re a fan of the show how do you feel about slamming Cochran by calling him a coward?

Jim: I actually despise name calling, it’s so immature you stupid idiot.. lol.
I meant it when I called him a coward. I think he made his decision based out of fear and to me that’s a coward. I think he deserved it.

The Yak: What’s Ozzy really like?

Keith: Ozzy is just a really nice guy. Very down to earth, a beast in challenges. We became very close friends. He’s a very regular guy. We had a pretty good time on Redemption Island together, we fished every day, had coconuts and fresh fruit.

Jim: He was a real nice regular guy. I was only at Redemption Island for one night.

The Yak: How did you view Coach?

Keith: From my basic knowledge he was running the show. He was making his presence known as the leader. He was saying if you don’t listen to me or do what I say there will be consequences. I was completely creeped out by Coach. The honor, integrity and the shoulder rubbing just creeped me out.

The Yak: Why do you think Cochran flipped at the merge?

Jim: As a team we should have made a bigger effort to solidify our team. We should have stressed that we were all sticking together. We had the advantage. We had two immunities AND an immunity idol. It makes no sense whatsoever that Cochran would want to flip. Cochran basically had the best spot in our tribe. He had a final 3 deal with every person on our tribe. As a fan Cochran should know that you can piss off one person and still get jury votes in the end. By flipping and screwing over 5 people it’s 100% lose. I just don’t see how you can flip if you’re playing for the end game. it’s amazing to see someone so smart, going to Harvard, do something so stupid.

*(ed note: Don’t think Cochran will get Keith or Jim’s vote. lol)

The Yak: Keith what did you think when you found out Jim’s true profession? (Medical marijuana dispenser)

Keith: (laughing) I was shocked that he lied about it! It actually made me like him more! It doesn’t really matter, Jim was a real hard worker. I thought “why didn’t you tell us???”

The Yak: Keith can you tell us about your relationship with Whitney?

Keith: We became very close. I can’t answer anymore questions because she’s still playing the game. Hopefully at the finale we can talk about more things and give everyone answers they want to know.

The Yak: Any thoughts about the final challenge against Ozzy?

Keith: Well we thought it was one person going home so to find out it was two, that caught me off guard. During an endurance challenge like that one mental lapse and you’re done!

Jim: As a fan of the show I knew many of the challenges that I hoped to compete in and many that I was hoping not to compete in. As soon as I saw it I realized it was one of the ones I was hoping against.

The Yak: If Jeff Probst called you and asked you to play Survivor again, would you?

Keith: I don’t know (laughing)

Jim: Anyone would love to play again. Who would say no? You get to take off and forget everything, go to a beautiful place and compete for a million dollars!!

To see more Keith and Jim go to CBS.com and view their time on the “Ponderosa”!
The Yak: Thanks so much guys. It was great talking to you, see you on finale night!!

___________________________________

Can you tell you they will be voting for by their interviews? Let us know what you think below, then come on into the forum HERE where we are discussing all our favorite reality shows!

Glee’s Amber Riley Speaks Up Against Bullying

Thanks to one of our Twitter followers, @Marc_Higginboth, for pointing this out to us! We want to bring you a brief announcement from Glee’s Amber Riley (Mercedes) regarding bullying and the Anti-Bullying movement. Glee has tackled the topic of bullying in past episodes, but Amber has teamed up for the “Mean Stinks!” campaign to make a change for the better! In the video below, Amber lays out three very easy ways for people to help counter bullying, gossip and plain old negative attitude in our schools. Check it out below!

Don’t Miss Big Brother Jun’s Tips Too

In an effort to join forces and increase awareness, we encourage you to share these stories with your friends and family and encourage continuous efforts to make a difference! We all are capable and we just hope that this motivates and encourages each and every one of us to take a stand and put a stop to bullying once and for all. YakkityYaks, don’t talk smack!

__________________________

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLwwhRIbqpA

Yak Exclusive: Big Brother Jun Song’s Tips To Combat Bullying

In accordance with our initiative this week, Big Brother 4 champion Jun Song took some time to send her thoughts, exclusively to the Yak, regarding bullying and the Anti-Bullying movement. Cast as part of the X Factor twist, Jun weathered through to win the prize at the end. Since her time in the Big Brother house, Jun has remained active in social media and has kept up with her fans on Twitter. While Jun has been a very polarizing previous houseguest on Twitter, she has committed herself to the Anti-Bullying movement with the Yak. At the start of the week, Jun has made a couple of affirming tweets in support of our initiative. I, Jun Song, do hereby solemnly swear to ““Stop and think. Words can hurt.” in honor of #AntiBullyingWeek because well, words are my thing. Well known by some fans for her “Twitter wars,” Jun even promised to play nice this week in support. Regardless of your impressions, stepping up for the cause is what this is all about. Here is Jun’s story and 10 tips on how to combat bullying.

We would like to personally thank Jun for stepping up and saying a few words about this important movement. We also want to sneak in a congrats to Jun as she learned that she will be having a boy!

In an effort to join forces and increase awareness, we encourage you to share these stories with your friends and family and encourage continuous efforts to make a difference! We all are capable and we just hope that this motivates and encourages each and every one of us to take a stand and put a stop to bullying once and for all. YakkityYaks, don’t talk smack!

__________________________

Growing up the only (yes, check the Census records…only, haha) Korean girl on the Lower East Side of New York City in the late 70s/early 80s I was a prime target for bullies. But after receiving my first black eye I learned to fight with my quick wit and sharp tongue instead of relying on my obviously lacking physical prowess.  That doesn’t mean I was cursing people out my whole life…only occasionally…instead I was careful in who I befriended and why. It’s no wonder I ended up on a show like Big Brother where one’s social capacities and intuition lead people down such different paths. Confrontations can’t always be avoided, but people can be more thoughtful and calculating in how they deal with  such events. Not to say BB is exactly a bullying scenario, but there are so many parallels. Everyone just wants acceptance, including bullies…and unfortunately bullies don’t have the ability to deliver that message and therefore prey on others.  We just all need to be more aware. I’m happy to be a part of Anti-Bullying Week. Thank you for the opportunity!

Anti-Bullying Week: ” I really want to make a difference…”

Continuing our aim for the week, YakkityYaks will be joining with past and present Reality TV stars and fans just like you in honor of Anti-Bullying Week. We continue to feature stories from Reality TV personalities, members in our YakkityYaks forum, and fans from Twitter and Facebook. In an effort to join forces and increase awareness, we encourage you to share these stories with your friends and family and encourage continuous efforts to make a difference! We all are capable and we just hope that this motivates and encourages each and every one of us to take a stand and put a stop to bullying once and for all. YakkityYaks, don’t talk smack!

Check out Big Brother 11’s Lydia Speaking Out Against Bullying

Read on below for two personal accounts from fans on Twitter & Facebook who felt so moved to submit their own personal and touching stories, in addition to all of our other coverage today. Names have been changed to protect identities, but the stories are straight from the heart and unedited.

If you are interested in participating in our anti-bullying initiative by sharing your story, please contact JDMontgomery@yakkityyaks.com or ShellyBB13@me.com (Big Brother’s Shelly). Each and every story can bring about great change.

We also want to announce an exciting addition to our special features this week. Everyone who submits a story will be eligible to win a phone call from a reality TV personality!

____________________________

I was bullied and picked on all my life because I was fat. Turns out, there are worse things in this world than being fat.

Two notorious bullies from my elementary and jr high years are now dead. One from suicide, the other from heroin.

Another bully from jr high changed the oil in my car in our mid-twenties while he was working at a quick-E-lube. He was bald and fat in his mid-twenties.

It was difficult at the time they were picking on me…. but I was later able to see that what goes around comes around!

– E.C.

__________________________

Ever since as long as I can remember I have dealt with being bullied.

In the First Grade is when it began. I was raised to see everyone equally. I tried to be friends with everyone whether they were black or white, male or female, anything. In first through fifth grade, it was that big of a deal to me that the kids in my class would make up rhymes to taunt me and wouldn’t play with me at recess. That’s about all I had to deal through out those grades.

Than I went into middle school. I still remember my first week of middle school I was opening my locker and another kid came by and stole my binder and ran off with it. In the 8th grade I dreaded going to band class every day because two boys in that class did everything they could to upset me, but since I had been dealing with bullying all that time I learned to pretend they weren’t bothering me this lead to even worse bullying. When the teacher turned around they would hit me or when he left the room they would beat me up. No one else in the class would say or do anything about it. They just acted like it didn’t happen and I was afraid to tell the teacher because I thought it would lead to worse things happening.

I would go home everyday crying and telling my mom everything that happened and I was really depressed. All I did when I came home from school was sleep. That’s all I really remember about my 8th grade year of school is the bullying. In the Ninth grade I got a job and almost all the managers and my co-workers bullied me. The managers would give me clothes that were too small and make fun of me about it and one of my co-worker put a box cutter to my neck trying to scare me. (It worked!) As if work wasn’t bad enough I now had to deal with being a freshmen in high school. Just one of the stories from that year is I was at my locker and a group of guys came up to me and told me to give them my money or they were gonna beat me up, so I did. This happened almost every day until a teacher saw it and stopped it once I told her what happened. I was getting threats of being beaten up alot and the people in my band class would throw water bottles and rolls of paper towels at me when the teacher wasn’t looking. After I graduated high school it all stopped.

I was adopted the day I was born into a loving family with two parents who have adopted 9 children with special needs. Seeing some of my brothers and sisters get made fun of still bothers me. I talk to them and tell them about how I was bullied but it still doesn’t work. I really want to make a difference in any way I can. Even if it leads to the bullying starting over again I just want to help others. If there is ANYTHING I can do please let me help!!

Thank you for taking the time to read this,

M.H.

Yak Exclusive: ANTM All Star Lisa D’Amato Speaks Up Against Bullying

America’s Next Top Model All Star (& ANTM Cycle 5) and one of my absolute FAVORITE people, Lisa D’Amato, took some time out of her busy schedule to send her thoughts, exclusively to the Yak, regarding bullying and the Anti-Bullying movement.

We would like to send a personal thanks and shout out to Lisa for taking the time to tell her story and be a part of this important movement. In an effort to join forces and increase awareness, we encourage you to share these stories with your friends and family and encourage continuous efforts to make a difference! We all are capable and we just hope that this motivates and encourages each and every one of us to take a stand and put a stop to bullying once and for all. YakkityYaks, don’t talk smack!

Here is Lisa’s story:

___________________________________

[singlepic id=676 w=320 h=240 float=]When I was in elementary school, I was dealing with a crazy unmothering mom, a dad with a heart of gold, and a divorce and custody battle. My mom trying to win us over just to spite my dad and on top of that I was a kid that had no friends. There were these girls that would call me names all day everyday: ugly, stupid, disgusting etc. I was the girl who played tether ball by herself and would think about how to make these girls stop. I thought of the greatest plan! I was gonna buy them each a really nice Christmas present from Sanrio Surprises (Hello Kitty stuff) (I was in 4th grade)  in hopes that they would lay off of me a bit and maybe be nice to me. I saved all my birthday money amd garage sale money and wrapped really cute stuff for them after months of saving and gave them their gifts. After I gave them their presents with nice cards expressing how I’d love for them to be my friends, I ended up being an even bigger laughing stock of our whole 4th grade as the outcast trying to “buy friendship”. Everyone started asking me for presents laughing. I’ll never forget how horrible it was to be me and wished I could just disappear from life all together.

This didn’t stop for years. My mom won the custody battle and my sister and I’s life became lives of fear and pain. When you are coming of age and know that you are different then the rest it is heart breaking. There comes a point in your life when you kinda just snap and realize that maybe you don’t want or need their approval and wouldn’t want to be like them anyway. It comes kinda as a break down but truly it’s a break through!!!

Be you TIFUL!  If God wanted us all to be the same then why would he make us so different? Life is beautiful and it IS because of the ones that are so different: YOU! WE are the ones with the strength and power to be the voice of change and acceptance so that we can make the world a better place- not “THEM”.

Don’t stop dreaming and don’t stop working towards your dreams because this is your life not theirs. We all have our own individual journey’s, including theirs, but ours has a lot more bumps in the road to train us to be that much more powerful. They can buy their happiness by being weapons of mass consumption but they can never buy thick skin like what we have. We are indestructible because we have earned it and we own wings now! 🙂  We were put here to teach the ignorant and share beautiful stories of hope and courage. If anything, don’t read this as a message of “being accepted” but more of a message that you were brought here to be THE voice of love.

~Lisa D’Amato

___________________________________

Now really, you see how silly these stupid bullies are? Calling Lisa ugly? Come on now! I wonder, where are these bullies now? WTG Lisa!

Anti-Bullying Week: Yakster’s Share Their Stories

As promised, throughout the week, we are featuring stories from our very own members in our YakkityYaks forum. These stories are volunteered from people who call our website their internet home and it is just another example of our personal feel and family attitude we pride ourselves in.

Just a reminder, the stories are unedited and real truths. We have only changed the names of those involved to protect their identities.

Here are two different accounts from Yaksters, both who wished to remain anonymous.

___________________________________

Okay, so here’s my story.

As a child I was and continue to be a bit hyper. I had some things happen to me that shouldn’t happen to any child and it affects me to this day. Made me very insecure with myself, who I was, what value I had as a person and whether or not I could ever trust someone enough to be intimate and not necessarily in a sexual way but moreso in a way that you fully expose yourself to a person (again, not that way) and trust that they wont’ belittle or make fun of you. I wanted to fit in with the kids at school but I never knew the right thing to do or say around them, couldn’t be myself really because I always thought that since things had been done to me I may not have been worthwhile enough to really like. I did have friends, but I was never popular or cool.

When I was in the fifth grade I went through a phase where I’d wear different color socks, swimsuit coverups as part of an outfit, and other oddities…thought that would make me cool but nothing ever seemed to work with the popular kids. They’d tell me I was weird, ugly, smelled….and the times they’d include me in things were the times they could use me for something I had. Such as, as stupid as this sounds, my collections of things like the California Raisins figures, Garbage Pail Kids cards, etc. They’d pretend to like me and because I wanted to be cool I’d give them some and then they’d make fun of me again afterwards.

It got worse in junior high. Puberty and body odor set in, B.O. was my nickname from 8th grade on. I had clinical acne in the 8th grade, and man they had a field day with that one. I’d get crushes on boys, and they’d ask me to “go with them” only to find out it was a joke. In the 8th grade I was out of school for a week due to an eye virus that nearly went through this paper thin bone that lies between your eye socket and brain, and when I went back my friends, fellow nerds, were concerned but many told me to my face I wasn’t missed.

I had I think a sum total of two or three dates in high school too and the thing is, I was a late bloomer. When I was about 16 I got a figure, in fact I remember one time I had to walk up to the teacher’s desk in high school and two of the popular guys said “She might be a freak but she’s got a great ass”…..but I still was so awkward, could never connect with a guy b/c I would always get a scared feeling in my stomach.

So while I was never told to kill myself or any of the nonsense you see today, I never quite fit in. The resonating effect of that hits to this day too. If you’re told over and over you’re not perfect, that you’re a dork, geek, spaz, ugly, you smell, acne face you start to believe it. I’m thankful I have a family who tells me just how wrong those people were, even without saying it, but showing it. But I’m still self conscious, still really want to fit in with people, and I still can’t trust some in certain areas b/c of something that happened, that should never happen and will I ever get past that? I don’t know.

But I will say this, for anyone that’s been bullied, or is right now. It gets better b/c all those people who made my life hell, who made me want to die and I did try twice and thankfully failed, have since grown and matured. All the “dorks” and popular kids now hang out whenever they can get together…..

~Anonymous Yakster

___________________________________

I was in seventh grade, and an eighth grader was always pushing me into lockers, walls, anywhere else I happened to be at the time. He also called me every name in the book. Finally, I got fed up with it all. He came up to me one day and tried to physically push me around again. I got up into his face and told him if he wanted to push me around anymore, he would have a fight on his hands because I wasn’t gonna take it anymore. From that day on, this guy left me alone.

~Anonymous Yakster

___________________________________

If you too would like to share your story with us, we would love to hear from you. You can contact us through the contact form at the top of this page, or send your story to JDMontgomery@yakkityyaks.com. The more stories there are, the more we can show others they are not alone in this fight.