A teenage girl who claims she was teased “mercilessly” as a child has beaten back bullies – by becoming a model.
Tegan-Riley Elliott, now 16, says she hated primary school because of the constant comments.
But after signing with a modeling agency, she says she’s more confident than ever – and wants to inspire others.
Tegan, from Erdington, West Mids., said: “My confidence is crazy at the moment – I love it.
“I never had anything like this in primary school and I still don’t know why I was bullied.
“I spent most of the time alone and calling and pointing out names over and over, I never stopped.
“I wasn’t learning anything at school – it was just constant bickering and whispering to me.
“But now I’m really excited about the future and it’s helped me to talk to people. I know it sounds so cliché, but talking to people really helps.”
Tegan says she spent most of her elementary school years alone after she started being bullied in her second year.
Despite pleading with the school to intervene, she claims she was simply told to stay away from the bullies and things continued to get worse.
In the years that followed, Tegan created a new group of friends, but unfortunately ran into the same problem when one person in the group didn’t like her, she claims.
Struck by all the faith, she began to lock herself in her room and stopped talking to anyone.
Tegan said:[They] it took a bunch of guys to laugh at me and tell me.
“[They would] always comment on my hair and nails, which means I would bite them.
“A group of four boys pushed me into the mud and punched, slapped and kicked me. [the bully] encouraged them to do so and laughed.”
Thankfully for Tegan, her high school experience was much different – making lots of new friends – despite being “terrified” about it at first.
Her newfound confidence allowed her to explore her passion for modeling and she is now signed up with the JLG modeling agency as she completes her college studies.
Tegan did her first paid shoot two weeks ago and is in the process of flying out of the country for further shoots.
The healthcare college student said: “I’ve always had an interest in modelling, but I was anxious about getting accepted.
“My mom registered me in an agency and she said I was accepted.
“It was crazy and now I’m doing photoshoots almost every week to build my portfolio at the agency.”
Tegan also works with the NSPCC every year during anti-bullying week to share her story.
“It felt like a weight was lifted when I talked to someone.
“It’s not your fault and you don’t need to change.
“Everyone is perfect in their own way and no one should change themselves because of other people.”
An NSPCC spokesperson said: “Tegan is a valued lived experience advocate for the NSPPC and she has done fantastic work helping to raise awareness of the impact bullying can have on children and young people.”
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Image Source : nypost.com