Anti-Bullying With Erini

Self Love + Adult ediati M on= THE SOLUTION TO END BULLYING?

By Michelle Elizabeth Photography: Michelle Baragona (@michelle__studios)

“People doing great things like helping others, but like in a big way or doing something really amazing like changing the way people live or think.”

Erini Serrano is a 9 year old model and activist originally from New York. Currently she resides in North Carolina with her parents. She’s always enjoyed dressing up and posing for pictures, so her parents enrolled her in modeling classes so she would gain more confidence. Even though Erini really enjoyed the runway and came out of her shell more, she wasn’t satisfied with the classes. For her, doing in person workshops and one on one lessons with professionals as well as watching youtube tutorials was more effective. Erini would love to continue modeling as she gets older, but also wants to have a career in technology. She enjoys coding and recently participated in a summer camp for coding and earned a certification. This determined little entrepreneur also wants to get into real estate and own rental properties for additional income. Her dream is to donate a lot of money to charities such as St. Jude’s as well as anything that helps starving children and others. Erini is really passionate about helping others and jumps on any opportunity to do so.

What Serrano loves most about modeling is “getting on the runway and just being in my own world. I feel like a different person. I also love all the clothes. Fashion is so cool you can dress and act the part. Meeting so many friends is another favorite.” The hardest part for her is not smiling when she’s on the runway and sees her parents. Seeing their loving faces in the audience fills her with so much joy that she feels like bursting out laughing. So far the most exciting moments in Erini’s career have been the firsts- such as her very first one on one photoshoot and the first time she saw herself in a magazine. She says, “I felt like I feel when I swim. I felt free like I'm the only one here and I am amazing. It just felt so good.” Erini gets inspired when she sees “people doing great things like helping others, but like in a big way or doing something really amazing like changing the way people live or think. Makes me feel like I can do that too. I feel like if that person can I can too!”

Serrano became an advocate for Self Love and Anti Bullying because she has been a victim of bullying. She’s also been excluded and treated very badly by her peers. When it happened she confided in her mother who explained that it's ok to love yourself. She says, “What others say and do has nothing to do with what we feel about ourselves. There is nothing wrong with saying good things about yourself and loving yourself - You are SUPPOSED to.” Erini practices self love by telling herself what she’s good at. “I will say ‘I'm smart, I'm strong, I'm talented, I am kind.’ I also take good care of myself. I like to dress up to make myself feel good.” Most importantly, she doesn’t let people treat her badly anymore. She says,”I love myself too much to let anyone treat me badly or speak to me bad.”

Erini says she was bullied for being “different”. Also, she is very nice and many people treated her like a doormat. They assumed that because she was nice, she wouldn’t say anything and just let the bullying continue. At school, there was one girl in particular who kept bothering her. It started with the girl just physically tapping her, then she started pushing her, and eventually the girl would intentionally stomp on Erini’s feet. It became an everyday occurrence. She told her parents about the bullying and they talked to the school’s administration, but nothing was done to stop the bullying. Erini explains, “Schools don't like the word ‘Bully.’ They want to call it something different so they don't look bad. They did nothing, just called her to the office, but she never stopped.” They thought that the kids needed to resolve it amongst themselves. Eventually it got to the point where Erini hated going to school. Finally, her parents removed her from that school and put her in a charter school that she absolutely loved. Erini believes that the situation could have been resolved with adults mediating it, like her current school does. She says, “Kids need help with that. I know my mom helps me. Sometimes I get nervous and cry or can't talk so it's best to have adults step in. I think if kids were taught at home to be kind and respectful things could be better.”

“There is nothing wrong with saying good things about yourself and loving yourself - You are SUPPOSED to.”

“You need to stop and tell your parents so they can help you. Write them a letter. Tell them to spend quality time with you, so you feel loved.”

Unfortunately bullying isn’t limited to just one particular place, it can happen anywhere. So even after Erini switched schools, she still had to put up with the neighborhood bullies. She says, “This time it doesn't bother me because I realize now it comes from bad parenting. The parents are supposed to teach kids. Kids can't teach themselves. Sometimes that's what's going on. Parents don't step in. I'm very lucky to have parents that always have my back. That is how I learned about self love. My mother explained to me that we value ourselves too much to get upset or be around negative people. We have to be with people that are smarter, better, we can learn from, and that want us to do well.”

This Model turned activist wants kids to know that they are not alone. She says, “When I was bullied I felt sad, lonely, like no one liked me… I was really sad. I never want anyone to feel that way...The truth is those people probably aren't given any attention at home. They are probably jealous of you or just upset about something. Tell someone. If they don't listen, tell someone in your school staff. If they don't listen, message me. I will talk to anyone”. She also recommends seeing a therapist because it really helped her. Erini says that she feels sorry for the bullies as well because she understands that they are in pain. She advises, “You need to stop and tell your parents so they can help you. Write them a letter. Tell them to spend quality time with you, so you feel loved.”

Lastly, Erini Serrano wants kids and teens to know that they can make a huge difference in the world by looking for “the kids that are ‘weird’ or stick out or treated differently, excluded.” She recommends giving them compliments and inviting them to play or to go to events with you. She explains, ”You can make their day! You can change someone's whole life by making that change. Give them hope like they are seen that day. I give compliments everyday... because I know I am making someone smile. Everyone should do their part to include everyone. Never leave anyone out.”

Activewear As Individual As The Girls Who Wear It.