Everyone, especially teenagers, faces challenges in their everyday lives. However, those sets of challenges differ from person to person. For Senior Jezelle Mejia, her challenges consisted of confronting the person she always wanted to be and how to live comfortably through her true identity. Jezelle Mejia is not only a symbol of strength, but also of individuality and openness.
 

Early Childhood Experiences 

    Jezelle Mejia grew up with a variety of different cultures. She originally grew up in sunny California, but she then moved to Mexico during the later part of her childhood, and she credits her experiences in Mexico as the building blocks for what shaped her pride in her culture and her identity.  

     However, this move did take a negative toll on her. “Moving frequently between places like California, Mexico, and Miami made it impossible for me to keep track of my friends,” she said. “Moving meant going to a different school, and the unmotivated me to socialize—it made me feel sad as a kid because nobody would want to approach me either–I was deemed the ‘weird kid’ wherever I went.” 

  Such challenges had a detrimental effect on Jezelle. She said, “I went mute during a challenging period of my life. It was right when I started moving schools, and I adapted to just stay quiet. It felt better to choose to be mute than to be forced too.”  

   Being mute allowed Jezelle to have a sense of choice in a situation where she felt powerless. Nevertheless, despite these obstacles, Jezelle persevered. She explained that learning to accept who she was in her entirety–and the LGBTQIA+ and the goth community–helped her become the person she is now. 
 

The Goth Subculture and its Permanent Effect 

  Jezelle Mejia first began exploring the Goth subculture in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, but she really became immersed in the culture in 2023. Jezelle explained, “What drew me into the subculture is the macabre, political culture around it. The concept of death fascinates me and so does the whole idea of nonconformity.”  

    As a child, she always felt connected to the Gothic characters shown in cartoons or movies–which ultimately drew her into making the whole culture into her very own version of self-expression. This Gothic style has attracted all different kinds of attention from strangers. She said, “When out in public, I usually receive compliments, mostly from the younger generation, although there have been times where I had been harassed for my style.”  

   The occasional negative attention she would receive would hurt her self-esteem when she was younger, but she’s learned to not care about what strangers think of her world and her experiences. 

   The Goth subculture is everything to Jezelle Mejia. Without it, she can’t even imagine where she’d be since such a massive part of her identity revolves around her Goth lifestyle. 
 

LGBTQIA+ Journey 

  Jezelle Mejia realized her attraction to her same sex in seventh grade. This realization was very pushed back and ignored due to her home life. She said, “Growing up in a household that belittles the LGBTQ community really shaped my adolescent mind to stray away from the community.” Her first epiphany, when she realized she liked girls, was immediately counteracted with fear. She wasn’t afraid of her attraction, but of what her family would say and think about her.  

  Jezelle started gaining confidence in her sexuality through her older teens when she changed her living arrangements. She moved into a community that finally accepted her for who she was, which gave her the courage to share her identity and even come out to her parents.  

  She added, “Embracing my identity from bisexual to lesbian made me ten times happier because it gave me more confidence and freedom in my expression.” She feels that learning how to accept her identity helped her grow in challenging situations, like her mental health.  

Reflection 

  As a child, Jezelle saw herself as inferior and weird. Now, as an adult, she has a different perspective. Learning more about her mental health and experiences through therapy and a supportive partner, she now has a better perspective on herself. Her personal goals in life are to have a home she can live freely in without fear of judgement and to have trust and honesty in her relationships with her loved ones.