![\"WESH](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768911270_880_wesh.png\")
<\/p>\n16-year-old Orlando mental health advocate empowering girls through affirmations<\/p>\n
Sumer Strawbree, a Central Florida teenage illustrator, author and mental health champion, joins WESH 2 to share her mission to boost young girls’ confidence one page at a time<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGABBY DOUGLAS, SIMONE BILES, JORDAN CHILES, THOSE ARE JUST THREE TEAM USA GYMNAST AND OLYMPIC MEDALIST WHO\u2019S TRAILBLAZING TALENT SET THE STAGE FOR YOUNG BLACK AND BROWN GIRLS ACROSS THE NATION. THEIR UNIQUE JOURNEYS ARE ENCOURAGING GIRLS TO DREAM BIG AND REACH FOR THE STARS. IT\u2019S A SIMILAR MISSION FOR ONE MENTAL HEALTH ADVOCATE WHO CALLS CENTRAL FLORIDA HOME. SUMMER STRAWBERRIES GOAL IS TO EMPOWER GIRLS TO IMPROVE THEIR CONFIDENCE AND THEIR MINDSET. SUMMER LUTSK I\u2019M SO EXCITED YOU\u2019RE HERE TODAY. WE\u2019RE GOING TO TALK ALL ABOUT THIS. EXPLAIN. YOU KNOW, JUST YOUR YOUR ADVOCATE FOR MENTAL HEALTH, BUT YOU\u2019RE ONLY 16 AT TIMBER CREEK HIGH SCHOOL. SO HOW DID YOU START ALL OF THIS. YEAH. SO IT ACTUALLY STARTED OFF WITH A SAD STORY. SO I WAS ACTUALLY BEING BULLIED AT SCHOOL AND STARTING IN THE FOURTH GRADE, AND THERE WAS THIS REALLY MEAN BOY IN MY CLASS, AND HE ASKED ME THIS QUESTION THAT WOULD FURTHER LOWER MY SELF-ESTEEM, MY CONFIDENCE, AND MAKE ME FEEL LIKE REALLY BAD. SO HE ASKED, YOU KNOW, YOU\u2019RE UGLY, RIGHT? AND YOU KNOW, THAT JUST HIT ME SO HARD. AND I BELIEVED WHAT HE SAID. SO I SAID YES. YEAH, YEAH, I KNOW I\u2019M UGLY. AND OTHER KIDS IN MY CLASS, THEY WOULD TALK ABOUT MY PHYSICAL APPEARANCE, OTHER KIDS WOULD JOIN IN TOO. AND THAT JUST LED FOR ME TO, YOU KNOW, STOP SMILING SHOWING MY TEETH FOR PICTURES. BECAUSE WHEN I WAS YOUNGER, MY TWO FRONT TEETH FELL OUT. ONE GREW BACK IN STRAIGHT, ANOTHER GREW BACK IN CROOKED. AND, YOU KNOW, IT JUST IT WAS A WHOLE TOLL ON MY MENTAL HEALTH AND MY SELF-ESTEEM. AND THAT LED FOR ME TO STOP SMILING, SHOWING MY TEETH FOR PICTURES. AND THAT\u2019S EXACTLY WHAT MY DAD NOTICED. AND THAT WAS HE TOOK THAT OPPORTUNITY TO INTRODUCE ME TO POSITIVE AFFIRMATIONS AND ENCOURAGE ME, ENCOURAGED ME TO READ THEM DAILY. PRACTICING POSITIVE BODY LANGUAGE LIKE THE POWER POSE LIKE SUPERWOMAN POSE. AND THAT LED TO THE CREATION OF MY FIRST AFFIRMATION COLORING BOOK BLACK, BROWN AND BEAUTIFUL. OKAY, SO YOU TURNED IT ALL AROUND. THOSE THOSE NEGATIVE EXPERIENCES INTO SOMETHING POSITIVE AND TO ALSO INSPIRE OTHER YOUNG WOMEN. OKAY, SO SO LET\u2019S TALK ABOUT THAT. SO YOUR AFFIRMATION BOOKS, THIS IS A VERY EXCITING MONTH BECAUSE IT\u2019S ALREADY KIND OF UNDERWAY. BUT FRIDAY\u2019S THE OPENING CEREMONIES. YOU HAVE WRITTEN THESE AFFIRMATION BOOKS AND YOU\u2019VE WRITTEN ONE FOR THE OLYMPICS, RIGHT? YES. OKAY. SO TELL US ALL ABOUT IT. YEAH. SO THIS IS CALLED I\u2019M AN OLYMPIAN AND IT\u2019S FEATURING GIRLS. YOU KNOW, IT\u2019S VERY DIVERSE AND IT\u2019S INCLUDING SPORTS LIKE, YOU KNOW, ICE SKATING, OLYMPIC SPRINTERS. AND IT\u2019S JUST SHOWING THAT, YOU KNOW, ONCE YOU PUT YOUR MIND TO, YOU KNOW, IF YOU\u2019RE A FEMALE ATHLETE, ONCE YOU PUT YOUR MIND TO THE SPORT THAT YOU\u2019RE IN AND YOU\u2019RE DETERMINED AND YOU\u2019RE FOCUSED, THEN YOU CAN REALLY BE A WINNER AND, YOU KNOW, ACHIEVE GREATNESS AND BE A CHAMPION. I LOVE IT. OKAY, SO DID YOU. WHAT MADE YOU WRITE IT FOR THE OLYMPICS? BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY THIS MONTH, OR ARE YOU ALSO AN ATHLETE, THAT KIND OF THING. YES. SO I DID GYMNASTICS WHEN I WAS YOUNGER. I\u2019VE ALWAYS LOVED IT MY WHOLE LIFE. AND, YOU KNOW, THE WOMAN THAT YOU TALKED ABOUT IN THE BEGINNING, THOSE WERE MY, YOU KNOW, MY ROLE MODELS, ESPECIALLY AT THE TIME. BUT UNFORTUNATELY, I HAD TO STOP FOR A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE I GOT TOO BUSY WITH MY BUSINESS. BUT, YOU KNOW, I JUST LOVED THE TIME THAT I HAD DOING GYMNASTICS. I FELT POWERFUL, AND IT WAS SOMETHING THAT I WAS SO CONFIDENT IN. AND SUMMER HOW MANY AFFIRMATION BOOKS HAVE YOU WRITTEN? SO I\u2019VE WRITTEN FOUR. THIS IS MY LATEST ONE. YEAH, I\u2019M AN OLYMPIAN. MY LATEST ONE. I HAVE ONE CALLED BLACK, BROWN AND BEAUTIFUL. MY FIRST ONE WE HAVE GLOW UP AND THEN MY CAREER GLOW UP. THAT\u2019S WONDERFUL. SO WHAT\u2019S YOUR ADVICE TO YOUNG WOMEN, ESPECIALLY IF THEY\u2019RE GOING THROUGH BULLYING AT SCHOOL, IF THEY\u2019VE BEEN THROUGH SOMETHING SIMILAR? I THINK THAT ALL KIDS CAN RELATE TO YOUR STORY. YEAH. I WOULD JUST SAY, YOU KNOW, AFFIRMATIONS, THEY TRULY WORK. THEY REALLY THEY TURNED ME INTO SOMEONE WHO WAS SO SHY. SO, YOU KNOW, I FELT ALONE. AFFIRMATIONS SAYING THAT I\u2019M DAILY AND LIKE I SAID BEFORE, THE POSITIVE BODY LANGUAGE BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, ONCE YOU\u2019RE SITTING WITH YOUR ARMS CROSSED OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT AND YOU\u2019RE SAYING AFFIRMATIONS, YOU\u2019RE NOT REALLY, YOU KNOW, TAKING IT ALL IN AND SAYING THEM DAILY, THAT\u2019S THE KEY. BECAUSE REPETITION, IT GOES INTO YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS MIND AND IT CHANGES YOUR MINDSET FROM THAT NEGATIVE MINDSET THAT YOU HAVE INTO POSITIVE AND JUST REAFFIRMING YOURSELF. SO SUMMER TELL ME, LIKE I MENTIONED THE BEGINNING OF THE INTERVIEW 16 AT TIMBER CREEK HIGH, WHAT ARE THE PLANS FOR THE FUTURE? WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP? REALLY WHAT I SAY MY RESPONSE TO THAT WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, I\u2019M ALREADY DOING SOMETHING THAT I\u2019M SO, YOU KNOW, PASSIONATE DOING. YOU KNOW, I GET HIRED TO SPEAK AT DIFFERENT PLACES LIKE SCHOOLS, NONPROFITS, DIFFERENT THINGS LIKE THAT. CONFERENCES AND EVEN YOU BEING HIRED ACROSS THE COUNTRY NATIONWIDE, GOING TO ATLANTA. T.D. JAKES DAUGHTER, SARAH JAKES, SHE HAS THE WOMAN OF ALL CONFERENCE IN ATLANTA. I WAS HIRED TO GO UP THERE. I\u2019LL EVEN BE. YEAH, YOU\u2019RE ON THE PATH. YOU FOUND YOUR PATH. OKAY. SUMMER. THAT\u2019S SO WONDERFUL. THANKS FOR SHARING YOUR STORY AND ENCOURAGING ALL THESE YOUNG WOMEN. IT\u2019S SO WONDERFUL, I APPRECIATE IT. YOU GOT IT\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
16-year-old Orlando mental health advocate empowering girls through affirmations<\/p>\n
Sumer Strawbree, a Central Florida teenage illustrator, author and mental health champion, joins WESH 2 to share her mission to boost young girls’ confidence one page at a time<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\tUpdated: 9:46 AM EST Feb 4, 2026\n\t\t<\/p>\n