“Behind every person lies a story”

Ritenour High School believes that for each person there is a story. That we don’t know what the other person is going through so we must not judge others. We are sharing stories of students and staff, not to be a voyeur into others pain, but to show that we all deserve some compassion.

Senior Geraldine Flores

“As a kid, growing up, I guess I would say I was really self-conscious about my body image. Believe it or not, the first time I got bullied was in church.

I remember I was five or six years old and I was doing communion. I thought they were my friends and I remember playing in the hallways and they would circle around me and they tended to make fun of me and bully me. They called me ‘big fat gorilla’ a lot. So growing up, I had trouble with my body image and I would always think of what I could do to lose weight and not feel like this.  

Through elementary and middle school I had those thoughts, but I know in middle school it changed to thinking ‘I look more like a guy’. I would get told I sound like a guy or I look like a guy. I was really self-conscious in middle school.

I remember I would wear jeans and a skirt to be a little more feminine.  I used to wear a jacket or hoodie all the time, even in the summer.

My first year in high school I was sort of okay. I started opening up more due to the activities I had.  I have joined multiple sports and that is what has gotten me more okay with myself and pushing myself a little bit more. I think the first year I became more open, okay, and at peace with myself was junior year. Once I got into new sports, I started being more open and I got used to more people and opening up to different things.

I have always struggled with body image and I have always struggled with femininity,  but I got to that one point where I did not care if I was manly or showed more masculinity.  I can say I am at peace with myself. I have friends that always help me out and what has helped me get through those times is being more involved and open with others. I was so nervous and anxious with people seeing me in that way.  The whole image and whatever I look like is not important to me anymore. I do not care how I am or how I look like or how people see me. As long as I am okay with myself and I know I can do things, that is all that matters.”