Naomi Garcia:  

I am Naomi Garcia, formerly known as Naomi Rivera. I moved from Brooklyn, New York at age 11 with all my family to Los Angeles, California.That is where I grew up. I remember attending Buford Elementary School, Felton Jr. High, and Lennox High. Boy what a bad experience it was for me at times! Especially, because I was considered a nerd and teased so much. Having a New York accent didn't help me either. Kids used to call me chicken legs, four eyes, because I wore prescription glasses, or big mama. Although, I didn't have problems with my weight. I was a tall, slender young lady. Many would ask me why I spoke the way I did. At first I couldn't tell that my way of speaking was any different from the other children. I remember promissing myself to learn how to talk like everyone else did in school. My mom, God bless her, would tell me not to worry about the children who teased me. She would say, "they're jealous so just ignore them." I really wanted to believe that. Honestly, it didn't feel that way to me. My self-esteem was truly in the gutter! I sometimes dreaded having to go to school. There were days I hated myself!! I prayed almost every night to God and asked Him to help me love unconditionally, whether or not others cared or loved me. In my heart was a great desire to help others as much as I could. I didn't want to be different than my peers in school, but despite my efforts to belong to something, or for me to feel "normal," I can only say I related to people from church more than anything. What helped me throughout the years when I was in school is that I learned how to play guitar and sing at a young age. My father, who is a musician, taught me. I also loved to read and learn. So I spent a lot of time writing songs, stories and making postcards out of scratch in order to take my mind off of negative thoughts. Everything I wrote related to loneliness, sadness, or love and hope. Many of the pictures I drew were hearts of different colors, red roses (my favorite color and flower), trees done in pencil showing falling leaves to the ground an...Expand for more