Azle High School Homecoming Queen Alejandrina Guzman stands just 2 feet 8 inches tall because she has a rare condition called diastrophic dysplasia that affects cartilage and bone development. And when she speaks, you immediately understand why a bunch of high school students would select her as their queen.
When did you know that you were different? When I was little and my first younger brother was born, as he was growing up, I would ask my mom, "Hey, Mom, when is he going to get braces?" As time went by and I was in first grade, I got bullied. Every day, a student would walk behind me saying, "You're stupid. You're stupid. You're stupid." When I had enough, I turned around and said, "No, you're stupid." I got in trouble. And I think that when that happened, it kind of clicked a little. … But I think by second grade was when I was like, "Oh, I get it." … By November of second grade, [the bullying] just, like, stopped. I don't exactly know how that happened, but it felt good because I noticed the difference.
Some people would just give up, but you push the edges. Why? I guess I just want to inspire others. I know that I have this mindset that God sent us here on earth and has a purpose for everyone and that my mindset was to keep going and push to the limits. I want to show others that it is possible.
Do you ever feel sorry for yourself? There are times when I don't necessarily feel sorry for myself; I just feel sad, in a way. Like, "Why can't I drive?" There are times when I'm like, "Why?" But then I remember that whatever I input is what I'm going to get back, so if I don't even try, nothing is going to come my way. If I push hard and keep on going, it'll pay off. But there are times when it's like "Why can I not do this?" But then I remember, "Oh, wait a minute. I can't do can't." I really can if I put my mind to it. But I don't feel sorry for myself. No.
Your channel on YouTube is "alwaysfbm." What's that about? Going into my sophomore year, I gave a speech at a help center in Dallas. I love speaking in front of people - inspirational stuff. It's cool. I was thinking of a quote I could stick in their heads and get their attention. I thought of something - FBM. What it stands for is faith, believe and motivate. I've always had faith in God that everything was going to go well. Believing in yourself is a big deal because if you can't believe in yourself, who else will? And to motivate yourself is to motivate others. When someone has accomplished the ability to overcome a setback or a challenge or an obstacle, they can give a hand to others and inspire because everybody has a different story.
What about Azle High School? I'm really blessed that Azle High School chose me as Homecoming Queen [Oct. 25, 2012]. It shows what Azle High School is about. It's crazy to me that other high schools are like that news we saw a while ago. They voted for someone, and the purpose was to humiliate her [Whitney Kropp in West Branch, Mich.]. That's not cool. Not right. Azle High School really knows how to represent itself and has set a great example to others.
What's next? After graduating, my dream is to go to UT-Austin and major in psychology and French, and then go to law school.
What kind of law? It's not that narrowed down, but I'm down to three or four fields. I'm thinking about immigration law, or family law of some type. Disability law? I don't know how, but some way. Criminal law interests me. I don't know why, but I want to be the prosecutor.
