TotallyTot | Creating Innovative Solutions for Everyday Women: TeenMonth

Happy Resurrection Sunday!!!!

I am so excited to continue Totally Tot's teen takeover month on the blog! This week I have the lovely Amani. I met Ms. Amani at a church event for teens. I was one of the guest speakers and afterwards, I mingled and got to know a few of the kids. I instantly connected with Amani and her sweet spirit. She has the sweetest demeanor and we shared a bit that day and I instantly knew I wanted her to be a guest on my blog.

Amani just turned 16 yrs. old this year and she is a Sophmore in high school. She has dreams od being a veterinarian someday. I asked Amani to share her story on being amazingly unique and her journey to accepting her greatness. Read on to be inspired by this young lady and her super fabulous red dress!!!

Meet Amani...

If I could describe every teenage girl's life in one word, it would be underrated. There are many obstacles that teenagers have to go through during their lifetime to make sure they can be the best they can be. Teenagers are scared to be unique and show their true quality just because of what one person thinks. The hardest obstacle of being a teenage female is learning how to love yourself in your own skin. So I will tell you my story of how I learned to love myself and be brightly unique.
My name is Amani Roach and I am 16 years old.

Yes, you have read it right. AMANI ROACH. It says it right on my birth certificate. That was my first obstacle of loving myself. The worst weapon that anyone has ever used was words. I was looked down upon and disrespected just because of my name. It was the first time I have ever felt different. It was to a point where I put myself in a shadow so no one would say my name in class.I even kept myself from achieving in honor roll so my name wouldn't be called in award ceremonies in front of a huge crowd of insignificant people. If only I would've told myself to be unique back then.

The next obstacle in my life started at the age of 9. That was the first time I was hospitalized for having chronic asthma. After that every year I was hospitalized for a week. I started missing a lot of days at school. When you miss a lot of days people and friends start to fade away.

Next was freshman year of high school. High school was very different. I joined cheerleading for the first time and found new friends. Everything was perfect up until homecoming where we got our uniforms. I thought there was only one type of body shaming. I was completely wrong. Everybody had an opinion on my body. My legs and arms were too skinny and I didn't have any hips or a butt. I started to hate my body and cover myself in baggy, hot clothes. I was asking my Mom how to gain weight.

Then my mom and I talked and I thought about all of the opportunities I have had and all of the love that I have always received. I am an only child on my Mother's side and the only grandchild, so the love and attention I have received have always been overflowing. I am an older on my Dad's side, to my sister Anaya who I love. I have recently found out that my Dad changed his name to Roach because he thought it was cool! WOW! I have learned to appreciate my name more once I learned this from my Dad.

When it comes to insecurities, I won a pageant in 8th grade and I started to see how special I am and that gave me a new appreciation for my body. Recently, I have been recruited by my sewing teacher and she asked me to model her amazing designs in New York for Fashion Week! These opportunities have helped me to accept myself much more!

I was Miss black Illinois Jr teen. I went to New York fashion week to model before I was 16. A lot of people in New York admire my body. I have been in a magazine. I met Zendaya.I haven't been hospitalized since 2015.

I am still alive when other teens were unfortunate due to their asthma. And I still have a very unique name! A young woman like the sun should always stay bright. I am brightly unique, are you?

How amazing is Amani and her outfit?! I am so encouraged by her story and her journey. May we ALL learn how to accept our amazing and unique qualities like Amani.

This future super model veterinarian has a huge future and I am so excited for her!!!!

#GuestBlogger - Sunday, April 16, 2017

Meet Amani! Teen Guest Blogger

Happy Resurrection Sunday!!!! I am so excited to continue Totally Tot's teen takeover month on the blog! This week I have the l...

OMG! I am so very excited to kick off my teen takeover month! My first guest blogger is the beautiful and talented Jasmine Thurmond! Jasmine is the niece of a childhood friend and I met Jasmine last year at a teen conference. She spoke and shook the place! I immediately knew that I needed her on this blog! She’s 18 years old and a freshman at Columbia College majoring in vocal performance. She is the only girl with three brothers. Her heart is huge and her testimony is even greater! This girl is a superstar!!!!!! Meet the amazing Jasmine!!!!! Oh…..these pictures….she didn’t come to play! She served so effortlessly in every single pic that I almost wanted to crop myself out! Hahahaha! I asked her to be lead and share whatever God gives her and she did not disappoint!!!

In her own words, meet Jasmine…

Human.

I learned self-love at a young age. I have moderate hearing loss, and I have worn hearing aids since I was 5. They made me stand out and I was bullied a lot as a child. The kids would say “Alien… You’re an alien!” when I wore them. I kept a strong face and laughed with them but I cried so hard when I got home. That was when I decided to love myself unceasingly. I wore hearing aids and I was awkward, but I loved every part of myself.

For me, this love is rooted in Christ. God was my friend before he became something to worship. He taught me to be a friend to myself. He made music my outlet through church. I did prophetic worship and gained more self-love through my connection to music.

In high school, it was still hard socially, but my confidence and self- love was growing. In the winter of my junior year I sang a solo in front of my entire school. Some people cried, some rolled down the bleachers (literally) and people clapped and hollered for a while. It was that moment I knew I had something special, and my fight to love myself was becoming easier.

The next year and a half was fantastic. I sang the national anthem, did shows at colleges and gained the acceptance of my peers. They no longer taunted me for being different, they accepted me because my music felt like love. I find that love really changes people and how they act toward you. I always try to love people as much as I can. I became less and less afraid. I was ministering at church, praying and prophesying alongside singing. I truly and fully believed in myself and trusting God made my life a ball.

I was nervous the summer before college. My ACT scores weren't as good as I had hoped and I didn’t want to get there and fail. Since my high school didn’t really have a music program, I felt going to music school would be tough. But I trusted God and applied anyway. My first day at Columbia College was absolutely magical and I met my soon to be best friend. We spent 12 hours together that day. We made a band a month later called “The Contradictions”. We are a soul indie rock group with heavy gospel influences. We went on to win The Battle Of The Bands and we gig around Chicago a lot.

Never in a million years did I actually think that my weird, oddball self would turn out to be this blessed. We have a show at the Chicago House of Blues, this April 30th! Isn’t God good! People used to think I was crazy, for dreaming of being a musician with hearing-aid. Dreaming so big and so much, and believing myself and God so hard. But I’m not crazy-- I just love myself unceasingly.

My decision as a little girl to love myself has made all of this possible. It wasn’t an easy journey. It was a struggle of patience and belief. Some nights I wanted to quit but I was committed to finishing what God and I started. So though being human comes with its challenges. Emotions run rampant, relationships can be rocky and overall life can really suck. Young people, there is nothing you can do or have done for God to depart from you. Remember to dream too big. To be a little crazy and believe in yourself. Be okay with being human.

Be everything you want to be. Put God first and whatever you do love yourself unceasingly.

-Jasmine

Jasmine’s story touched me so much! When she sent me this I cried for sure!!!! She is such a sweet example of what trusting God looks like!

I asked Jasmine a couple of questions to add to this blog post and she did not disappoint….

How has your family encouraged you through this journey?

Jasmine: My family never let me make any excuses. I could do anything and everything! My parents have also been married for 20 years!!

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Jasmine: In 5 years, I see myself doing whatever God calls me to do. Changing the world one, one song, one message, and one heartbeat at a time.

WOW!!! Jasmine is such an amazing young woman!!! I thank God for her life she is surely a WORLD CHANGER!!!!

To follow Jasmine's band on Facebook and Instagram:

instagram.com/thecontradictionsband

facebook,com/thecontradictionsofficial

#GuestBlogger - Sunday, April 09, 2017

Meet Jasmine! Teen Guest Blogger

OMG! I am so very excited to kick off my teen takeover month! My first guest blogger is the beautiful and talented Jasmine Thurmond! Jasmin...

Make sure you're subscribed to TotallyTot.com!! All April I will honor my angel Farah by celebrating some amazing teenagers!! This month every#SundaysWithTot will feature an amazing young lady and her story! I'm also giving away 3, yes, 3 prom dresses!!! (Please share!!!) Finally, at the end of the month, April 22nd we will close out the month with a dynamic Teen Empowerment workshop!! I'm so thankful and excited for all of this!!!! Follow the journey!!!!!!! Xoxo!! !