There was a time when I was scared to be myself - afraid of being judged because of the things I enjoyed doing, but I had some really great people who told me "It's okay to be you." Eventually, I started listening to those friends. I started telling people at school when they asked that I loved going to Cleveland Cavaliers (NBA) and Cleveland Monsters (hockey) games. But when I told them, they looked at me like "That’s it? That’s what you were scared to tell us?" After that day I started playing basketball when I was in gym class, and I started being more open to people and telling them that those are the things that keep me going and help me cope when things get tough. I was happy to finally be myself and accept myself for who I really was. I was happy to know that I wasn’t going to be judged and that it’s okay to be different. I was over hiding my true feelings and to think that I was so scared. Every day some kids would joke around with me and ask "So when’s the next game?" and then we all would laugh about it, and I was finally able to be happy again.

– Angelina Calderon

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