LaTasha

A child of a drug addict, LaTasha was always the new kid, attending 13 different elementary schools. It was impossible to make good friends and the kids would call her stupid names that made her very self conscious. By high school, the bullying was beyond belief. The guys at school would date her, but then dump her when she wouldn’t have sex with them. They then spread rumors that she was easy and “bad in bed”. With a false reputation of a slut, no one would talk to her. She sat alone at lunch with insults constantly thrown her way. In tenth grade, she stopped going to school. She used her mother’s illness as an excuse, but it was really because of the bullying. At age 18, LaTasha thought she had found love. She got married, but he turned out to be emotionally abusive, constantly telling her she was fat and stupid. This led to even more feelings of worthlessness and LaTasha began cutting herself. The marriage ended after only one year. With her GED completed, LaTasha joined the Army. Before she left for Basic Training, she was dating her best friend, her biggest supporter, a young man she had known her whole life (they had bathed together as babies). He knew her better than anyone and still loved her; she thought he was the one she would be with for the rest of her life. Tragically, in 2012, he ended his life. This devastated LaTasha and still hurts deeply, causing her to cry every time she talks about him. Today she is doing much better and has not self harmed in over a year. She is absolutely beautiful, even doing some modeling which is how she met Jessica Tookey, but she still struggles with self image. She is trying to take care of herself and give her two daughters a strong sense of self worth. She doesn’t want them to feel like she has. Being a good mom is her biggest goal. As a single parent, it is a struggle, but LaTasha is successful and living each day to the fullest.