As the number one fan of Pretty Little Liars, I became obsessed with the real life story of PLL star, Emily Fields, otherwise known as Shay Mitchell. On an interview with Seventeen magazine, she talks about being raised in Vancouver, Canada and how in high school she was the one who stood out among her group of friends as she was the only one with a darker skin tone, without blue eyes, and without blonde hair. She wanted to fit in so badly that she asked her stylist to dye her hair a lighter color. She even got to the point of going to her doctor and getting blue contacts for her eyes. She was still not satisfied with her image as all her friends had straight hair and Shay's natural hair was wavy. Therefore, she asked her best friend to straighten it with a clothing iron. After a while, she smelled something burn and it was her hair! Shay freaked out and did not want to lose hair due to her pleasing. Her mom gave her a lecture on embracing herself for who she is and being satisfied with the physical traits she was born with. Soon enough, Shay learned her lesson and became happy with herself. She was going through this phase where she wanted to become someone else to be able to fit in. Sometimes, the environment we are in force us to do things to make us feel included. After this experience, Shay learned to embrace herself and love the way she was born because if she didn't love herself then no one else would. At the bottom, you will be able to watch a video about Shay when she was seventeen and her experiences as a seventeen year old girl. | |