Shaping the Future Shaping the Future digital FINAL X | Page 36

S
HAPING THE
FUTURE FOR
TEEN
ENTREPRENEURS
written by PAIGE HATHORN
Aaliyah
White
is a 17-year-old in her junor year at
Madison Prep, where she has been the
president of her class since freshmen year.
She is your average, busy high school girl.
When she is not being an ambassador for
her school, you can find her alongside the
football players as their personal trainer.
She has spent her whole school career on
the sidelines of her high school football
team and it has really started to pay off.
Recently being promoted to head trainer.
Aaliyah does everything from making sure
the guys stay hydrated, to icing and
taping. She helps decide what uniform
is going to be worn at what game and
coordinates who is traveling for junior
varsity and varsity teams. Her dream is to
work as an NFL sports trainer
after she graduates from college.
“If you don’t like something,
change it. If you can’t change it,
change your attitude. When you
learn, teach. When you get, give.
My mission in life is not merely to
survive, but to thrive; and to do so
with some passion, some compas-
sion, some humor, and some style.
Success is liking yourself, liking
what you do, and liking how you
do it. We delight in the beauty
of the butterfly, but rarely admit
the changes it has gone through
to achieve that beauty. You can’t
use up creativity. The more you
use, the more you have.” - Mayo
Angelou.”
Aaliyah is the author of “Living Life
Through #Hashtags”, which is sold on
Amazon. It not only highlights her battles
with depression, but also touches on
bullying and low self-esteem. It also talks
about her friend’s battles with these issues
as well, “I was
able to overcome my obstacles but my
friend wasn’t as lucky. She almost went
through with committing suicide,”
she says. “Later in the same year, my
father passed away and in my head I
was like ‘OMG! Write a book,’” she says
to herself. Six months later, Aaliyah
successfully published her first book.
“My mom was a huge supporter of me.
She had my back from the start. My mentor,
Chi, also made sure I was on track, which
played a huge part in my book process,”
Aaliyah says.
AROA
ON THE COVER
Afterwards, Aaliyah struggled with having a
few kids from her school try to downplay her
success by saying that her book was small and
was not big enough but for her, the positive
feedback she got back was greater than the
negative. She shared her lowest experience in
detail:
A
Experience with Depression
“My book sales soared all summer long and
I was on cloud nine, until the sale slowed down
in late August. That affected me deeply and
shook my confidence in myself. I felt like the
people that had become my biggest supporters
vanished and I realized I did not have the
steady support system I once thought I had. I
had so many good things going on in my life, so
why was this bad stuff suddenly happening to
me? I didn’t understand it at all. That’s when
my depression got the best of me. I wasn’t
exercising anymore. I felt like no one wanted
to be my friend, so I started pulling away from
people. I decided I needed to take a step back
from social media and reevaluate the people I
considered my friends.” Aaliyah continues, “I
have a really big heart and I would go out of
my way for them, but would never get that in
return. I realized that around them, I had been
faking who I really was. I could remained friends
with them and also continue to be someone
I wasn’t. I could have kept pretending I was
okay but I knew I wasn’t. I think my depression
stemmed from feeling deep down that I was an
outcast my whole life.
Conquering Obstacles
A lot of people my age didn’t appreciate or
relate to what I liked and disliked. Journaling and
listening to spoken word poetry really helped
me deal with my depression. I found Reyna
Biddy’s “I Love My Love” and I felt like each of
her different poems spoke to a different part of
me that I was having problems with. I focused on
my health and ended up losing 20 pounds. But,
It really wasn’t until after I finished the photo
shoot with A Round of Applause Magazine that I
truly felt that I had gotten my groove back. Y’all
really gave me the boost that I needed.
Trusting the Process
Looking back, writing and releasing my book in six months took
a huge toll on me that I hadn’t realized at the time. I thought I had
to get it out as soon as I could because that’s what people kept
telling me. My advice going forward is to appreciate the process
of things and don’t feel like you have to rush through anything. I
realize now that I needed to go through that time of being really
low so that I can now appreciate when I’m really high.
If you find something you are passionate about, then do it.
Don’t let anyone bash you for being who you are and living your
life the way you want to. If you do find yourself having a bad day,
surround yourself with understanding friends that are going to
lift you up.”
Shaping the Future
Aaliyah is in the process of starting a clothing line called No
Filter. “I want girls to embrace their flaws and own them, not
cover them up. It’s time we start being ourselves. We live in a
generation where social media is telling young girls they are not
enough. to the point where they are starting to believe it. We’re
not going to second guess our self-worth anymore,” she says.
“I get told a lot by people that they like my personality and who
I am, so that empowers me to really be myself.” Aaliyah feels
like the fashion industry has become more inclusive however,
“They are now searching for plus-sized models and it’s becom-
ing a trend for some people to get their bodies to look more like
mine.” she includes. Aaliyah is
encouraging those to just “love
what you have.” “Replace a flaw
with a positive thought. Give
the parts of your body that you
don’t like a little more attention
and just love yourself.” Aaliyah is
very big on empowering people,
ensuring that she refrain from-
knocking others down. “When
you shame someone for how they
are, you are completely knocking
their confidence.”
S H APIN G TH E FUTU RE | APRI L 2019
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