Avery felt like she didn't fit in at school, until her friend Emma told her something that changed everything.
"The first time I saw you in a room full of people, you were the only one that stood out. The way you stood out, and you were different than everybody else, that's when I knew I wanted to be friends with you," Emma said.
Avery's story is featured in a video for the "WORDS" campaign from I AM THAT GIRL, a nonprofit organization meant to empower and raise girls' self confidence through sharing their experiences.
In her video, Avery explains how she use to compare her physical appearance to other girls at school.
"Their kind of beauty, to me, is more beautiful than the beauty I had," she says to the camera.
She wore her "crazy-curly hair" naturally, and her dark eyes didn't blend in with everyone elses. Ultimately, she started to feel awful about herself. "That's the worst feeling ever: Looking into the mirror and hating the reflection."
But that all changed when she met her friend Emma. Avery and Emma first "bonded over insecurities," Avery said. And when Emma told Avery that she "stood out," her perception of herself started to shift.
The campaign encourages girls like Avery to pick a word -- like beautiful, loyal, or fearless -- and mention a girl they know who helped them embody that word, or who defines that word themselves.
For Avery, Emma was THAT girl. "Thank you, Emma, for bringing out the electric in me," Avery says.
Who's yours?
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