Kayla's Story - "Just Be Yourself"

Today was the last day of writing camp and Kayla shared her story that will be published in November.

Just Be Yourself by Kayla Reiniche

Have you ever been insulted just because of your looks? My name is Alexandra, but you can call me Alex for short. I'd like to tell you my story.

I'm part shark, part octopus, and part human also known as Hoctopus. Pretty odd mix, isn't it? My basic diet is fish, seaweed, and clams, but if I'm really hungry I'll eat coral. I have blue hair and blue eyes. I live in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii and I love to shop.

I'd like to tell the story of when my friend, Claudia, taught me an important lesson in life. It was a bight and sunny day. The water was as clear as the clearest glass. I was going to the Undersea Mall (as usual) to shop for some new shoes and get some seaweed salad for lunch. As I sat down to eat my lunch a merboy yelled, "You're the ugliest thing I've ever seen!" I started to cry uncontrollably and I quickly left the mall to go home.

Later that day my friend, Claudia, came to my house. Claudia came into my room and asked, "What did you...Hey, why are you crying?"

"A merboy told me that I was ugly." I said sadly.

Claudia replied with a little giggle, "That's whey you're crying?" I nodded.

Claudia said, "All you have to do is look in the mirror."

I slowly walked to the mirror and looked at myself.
Claudia asked me, "Do you think you're ugly?"

I answered, "No."

Claudia said, "Then you're not."

She told me, "It doesn't matter what other people think it's what you think that counts. Just be yourself."

From then on I never cared about what other people said about my looks because I knew that I looked beautiful.


Kayla will sign autographs upone request. :)