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:

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[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

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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!

One Reply to “Yak Exclusive: ANTM All Star Lisa D’Amato Speaks Up Against Bullying”

  1. I love the open discussion that YY is generating with all the stories about how people from all walks of life have overcome bullies and became the inspiring people they are sharing here!!
    Reminds me of the Toby Keith song “How Do You Like Me Now?”

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