Martie

Then...

• Age:12 years old
• Location:Taylorsville, Utah

Now...

• Age:28 years old
• Location:South Jordan, Utah
• Occupation:International Model, as well as a Policy & Procedure Analyst at Discover Financial Services

My Story...

Growing up I have always been quite shy until I got to know someone. I remember in elementary school I had more than one boy call me ugly and told me I looked like a boy. Junior high was the worst. I had the nicknames “No talk girl” and “Wookie” (a nickname for the tall furry creatures from Star Wars). Wookie stuck for quite a while and I hated it. I would come home from school crying on more than one occasion.

There was a particular group of “popular” guys that chose to be mean to me all throughout junior high and high school. They have thrown ice and tampons at me. I never knew why they didn’t like me because I never did anything to deserve what they did to me. I got to the point where I decided not to care about what they thought of me anymore. I decided to embrace who I was and not try to impress everyone. That is when I truly enjoyed my last years in high school. From playing Lord of the Rings games with friends during lunch to pretending to be British and even dressing up for several Harry Potter movie and book premieres. I gained amazing friends I never would have known if I still cared about what the “popular” people thought of me. I learned to love who I was and LOVE life.