I got my first giving key that said Strength for my 16th birthday, May 16, 2011. I had it for quite some time, thinking about who to give it to. I came to the conclusion that I would know who to give my key to at the moment and I wouldn't really have to deeply think about it, and that's exactly what happened. Over the past year, I became friends with a girl named Sanah. Sanah has alopecia, which is a hair loss disease, and in November 2011 she went to a Demi Lovato concert and told Demi that she inspired her to go to the show without her wig (which you can see in Demi's Stay Strong documentary on MTV.com). Since then, Sanah has been a very popular pupil! She's been in magazines, Twitter, TV and more! Sanah has been without her wig on many occasions and has learned SO much about strength and true beauty and has inspired many, myself included. I've gotten to know her very well and we've shared parts of our stories to each other, and when I met her in person, I knew she was the person I was going to give my key to. Sanah has been through lots of things that I will not mention for the sake of her privacy, but her going through all that and just turning it around into "who can I help with *said issue" and "who can I make sure they know they're beautiful" is absolutely incredible. I gave my key to her in December and also gave her a CD of "Stay Strong" songs and different Skyscraper speeches Demi has said at her shows. The feeling after giving my key to someone who I knew deserved it felt amazing, because she has given me and SO many other people around the world so much hope and strength. She genuinely cares about people and what they're going through, and she'd go to the end of the world to put a smile on someone's face, which I find to be an incredibly admirable quality. She's one of the strongest girls I've ever met and I'm so glad I've gotten to know her, because she's going to change the world one step at a time. It's truly amazing how music can bring people together.
Sanah, you inspire me every single day, and I hope to be as strong as you one day. I love you so much and I hope you stay strong, always.
- Casey