Page 45 - Iris Tennessee Teen Judges Book 2022

What has been your involvement with your platform?
My platform is called “It’s okay...”. I want girls to know it is okay to be sad, it is okay to be themselves, it is okay to be different and most importantly, it is okay to need help sometimes. As of now, I have worked with a teacher in my grade to come up with ways to give girls, and boys if they want, a safe place to talk and share their feelings. In my free time and with other kids in my school, we write each other anonymous words of encouragement and slip the notes/stickers/small gifts in lockers or bags to people that we recognize as needed some uplifting in their lives. I have also made various bulletin boards in my school and the elementary school about different celebrities that have mental health problems and get help for them. In the elementary school, it focuses more on your emotions, what they mean and how to handle them. I have also made flyers that give recommendations on self-care and different phone numbers and names of places that students can reach out to if they need a safe place to talk. These flyers have been posted at different schools in my community to reach out to as many people as I possibly can.
What inspired you to first become involved in your platform?
After my parent’s divorce, I was struggling with splitting time at both households. As much as my mom encouraged me to go to therapy, I didn’t think I needed it. Finally, I decided I would give it a try and I realize how much I like having someone neutral I can open up to and talk about my feelings. It has made me feel more validated and that my feelings do matter, and it is okay to feel certain ways in different situations. It made me want to encourage other people to be more open about their feelings and be more honestly themselves so they can realize everyone is different, and if we weren’t the world would be a boring place.
If you are selected as the winner, how would you mobilize and market your platform nationally?
In today’s world, it seems the way most information is spread caters to my generation. Most information people of any generation receive is via social media. I would like to start my own TikTok/Youtube channel that promotes working on yourself, both physically and mentally. I would like to reach out to others and have different people across the country my age striving for the same values and goals. We need to teach kids young that is matters how you feel and it also matters how you treat others. If I can have a social media movement of kids my age promoting these values, we could reach so many and take on as many influencers as we can find to help promote the “It’s okay...” platform.
How would you utilize social media in order to positively further your position as a titleholder if you are selected as the winner?
I want to spread my platform to TikTok and Instagram. TikTok has become one of the most used social media platforms where people can be fake and be real. I want girls, especially girls my age, to realize it is okay to be true to themselves and be real. I want to show the good, the bad and the ugly of my life and let people see that it is what has made me the person I am today. By sharing motivational quotes, aesthetically pleasing visuals and sounds for mediation or just different coping mechanisms I have learned, I want to help others just feel better about themselves.