Well I guess you like my videos? Oh my gosh, we put a world map on the website and everyday there are new red dots where someone has seen it. Someone in Madagascar watched my video. The comments on YouTube have been so nice too. Some of them make me cry.
I set up Twitter and Facebook accounts and just reading all the positive messages has been life changing. Everyday I know I just have to get through another day with the mean kids at school, because there are a lot more people out there who are on my side. Here’s the biggest surprise though, I got a direct message on Facebook from a girl named Shanda Maloney. She is the social media director for the UFC!!! Shanda gave me her phone number so my mom called her. We were all jumping up and down and screaming (yea, I know, I’m a little embarrassed to admit that but it was the UFC!) when Shanda invited me to Las Vegas for a VIP weekend at UFC 183!!!! Did I say VIP? It’s was more like Red Carpet, Queen of England treatment. Seriously. I got to accept an award with Shanda at the Fighter’s Only World MMA Awards ceremony. I went to the weigh-ins, which was a big deal. Huge! I got to sit right up front and after I met all the fighters and took pictures with most of them. Let me tell you this, hugging those UFC fighters was like hugging a marble statue…they were so in shape! Even though most of them were starving from cutting weight, they still took the time to talk to me and share their own bully stories. Joe Rogan spent at least 30 minutes talking to my dad. Something else happened. I got to meet UFC President Dana White. He was so nice. It makes me mad when I see all the bad things people say about him on Instagram. Guess I’m not the only one being bullied, but Dana doesn’t care. I like that about him and I hope I can get to that point some day. Dana pulled out his phone, he’s a busy guy, but after a few seconds I realized he called Ronda Rousey!!!! Then he handed the phone to me and I thought I would have a heart attack. The video is pretty funny, I was spazzing out. Ronda saw my video and liked it. After that, Dana said “Let’s go check out the octagon!” The octagon?!!!! OMG!!! I did a cartwheel in there. We took some pictures and hung out with some more UFC legends. The next day was the day of the fight. I was in the VIP section and the seats rocked. The fighters all walked out right by me and gave me high fives. Dana walked over between fights and told me he had another big surprise for me. We took a selfie and everyone around me was like “Whaaat?!!!” Then Demi Lovato came over and said hi. We chatted for a while and she told me she liked my video. This was a lot of amazing for one day. The UFC made everything super special with my own escort, back stage passes, VIP necklaces…it was a dream come true. I smiled so much I thought my face would freeze. I am glad I didn’t die back when things were looking so down. My favorite TV show is Bones. One of the episodes she says, “Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.” Sometimes I felt so hopeless, but MMA gave me a reason to live. Dana White and Shanda Maloney are at the top of my role model list. Even though they are very important and busy, they took the time to make me feel very important and special too. I can’t wait to hear their big surprise they have planned for me!!! THANK YOU SHANDA AND DANA!!!! Peace out homies! XO, Claire