From a very early age, I had mixed messages about my personal value as a human being. I didn't have the easiest childhood. I grew up in an abusive home and spent most of my early years living in fear.

Although the abuse stopped when I was 11, my self-esteem was seriously damaged. Throughout my teenage years, I turned to destructive, aggressive behavior to act out my feelings of inadequacy and to try and fill the emptiness and unworthiness I felt inside.


When I was 15, my father was killed in a car accident on his way to work. I grieved for many years knowing I would never see pride in my father's eyes. However, with the help of a professional and years of hard work, I began to realize I could honor my father's spirit by learning to be proud of myself, learning to love myself. I could find peace in the knowledge that he would watch with pride from up above. So began my life-long quest to reclaim my self-esteem.

For these reasons, as Mrs. Fredericton International 2003, I plan to create a self-esteem awareness campaign that will challenge every segment of our city to be proactive in eradicating low self-esteem. I will bring awareness to the importance of healthy self-esteem to Fredericton citizens by speaking and giving workshops around the city where I will share the story of my personal battle with self-esteem and how a commitment to building my self-esteem changed my life.

As a formally trained professional in the communications industry, I will create self-esteem brochures, which will provide plain-language information on how to recognize low self-esteem as well as offer easy-to-implement tools on how to build and maintain healthy self-esteem. These will be distributed at public appearances and speaking engagements.

As the Fredericton representative on the Canadian Council for Self-Esteem, I will continue to work with fellow council members across the country on developing and inspiring works in self-esteem. I hope to have this self-esteem awareness campaign culminate with February 2004 proclaimed Boost Your Self-Esteem month, in conjunction with international celebrations.

My platform is not just a social issue to me but a passion that has changed my life. My year as Mrs. Fredericton International 2003 will not be about me, but rather about marshalling the city's resources and conscience towards the achievement of my platform goal of creating a self-esteem awareness campaign.

If you would like a copy of the Mrs. Fredericton International Self-Esteem brochure, please contact Mrs. Fredericton International.