About Bri

Name: Aubrey

Pen Name: Bri Justine
B-Day: August 18, 1986
State: Tx
Job: Writer
Twitter: RinkyDinkyBri
Facebook: RinkyDinkyBri

Auto-Biography


I was born August 18, 1986 in Fort Worth, Texas to Debra Becker. I never met my father. Being a young single mother, my mom spent most of her time partying and out with friends rather than taking care of her child, so my grandparents raised me and eventually gained custody of me. You can say I grew up with a lot of emotional issues. Living without my mother, never knowing my father and living with a grandfather who worked all the time and a grandmother who never wanted to raise me in the first place took it's toll on me. I have a younger brother who was also raised by my grandparents. We were lucky to at least have our uncle Dwayne. He was the only father-figure we had and we cherished the time spent with him. Growing up with a grandma who knew nothing about raising a girl in the 90's, I went to school with barely brushed hair and "dorky" clothes. I became the focus of the other student's bullying. Elementary and middle school were hell for me. Kids can be very cruel. When I reached 6th grade, I grew very close to my English teacher, Mrs. Elliott. She taught me how to write and started what would become my number 1 passion. She showed me how to release my emotions in words. I learned that I could create unimaginable worlds in stories and even if it was only for a moment, I could escape from reality.

People don't realize how bad bullying can really affect a person but I can say from experience, it can rip through a person and leave them feeling useless and unwanted. It's a serious problem in our society and is the cause for many suicides in young adults. I hated school more than anything. My grandma literally had to force me to go to school everyday. The bullying towards me was everything from name calling, laughing at me, pushing me down, physically hurting me and tormenting me day to day. The one thing I will never forget is when a boy approached me at lunch with his friends and told me I should go home and kill myself because no one wanted me there and everyone would be happier with me gone. You wouldn't know the pain a person experiences by hearing that unless it's spoken to you.

When I wasn't in English class, I spent most of my time in the counselors office with Mrs. Massey. She knew how bad school was for me so she let me hang out in her office as often as I wanted. Her office became my safe haven. Well, in 8th grade Mrs. Massey left and a new counselor came in. She did not like me spending all my time in her office. She told me it was unhealthy and I needed to make friends with kids my own age so she enrolled me in Drama class. I was mortified. I spent the last 2 years successfully making myself invisible and now this woman wants me to face the kids who made me feel worthless?

Apparently, she did. :/ Well, there I was, sitting in the very back of the class, sweat beads pouring down my face and praying the teacher doesn't call my name. Praying, I guess was the wrong choice because one day, the teacher called my name. She made me get up on stage and act. Before I did, she told me to pretend the class was filled with all my friends, like everyone was there to watch me. Easier said than done, but I got my tiny script, read over it and when it was time to perform, I took a deep breath and read my lines. To my surprise, the class liked it. They all laughed and clapped and for once, I was glad I wasn't invisible. I'd love to say that the bullying stopped outside of drama class but it didn't. It did get easier though. I had a small group of friends and eventually fell in love with acting.

Just as I was starting to make friends and actually enjoy some parts of school, my mom (who I finally got to live with) told me we were moving out of the school district. I wasn't too upset though. Moving to a new school was a chance for me to make a new impression on people. The kids at the new school were a lot nicer than my original school. I made twice as many friends and some boys even flirted with me. I continued acting some through high school but I think I was more excited about the newly-gained social life I had. I do regret not sticking with acting but I don't regret how my life turned out. After high school, I didn't go to college. I just started working and have been ever since. I have a lot of goals I hope to reach and it's now or never so I'm going for it now. Wish me luck!