Demi Lovato started off as a Disney icon. You all probably remember watching little Demi on Camp Rock with the Jonas Brothers, and possibly on her feature on The Barney Show.

Although, as the years have passed, Demi Lovato has become someone we all can look up to. She has been an inspiration to me for many years and will continue to be my role model. Through Demi's courage to grow and learn to love herself, she has inspired me to do the same for many reasons.

1. She isn't like every celebrity.

Today all you hear about are celebrities doing everything they can to uphold a good reputation of themselves on the media. Demi is not like that. She speaks out on social issues as well as being involved in various mental health organizations that are providing resources for those who are struggling.

2. Her documentary is AMAZING and truly inspiring.

Demi Lovato released her documentary on YouTube in November of 2017. She began the documentary by saying, "I actually had anxiety around this interview. Because the last time I did an interview this long I was on cocaine. It was called, "stay strong". After hearing this, you can tell she is going, to be honest through the interview this time, and is ready to open up to her fans. In her documentary, she addresses what she's been through, and what she's doing to cope with these hardships.

3. She speaks out on mental health issues.

Demi has been an advocate for mental illness since she made it publically known she had them herself. She is an advocate for an organization called Be Vocal, in which works with various other mental health organizations in order to provide resources for people with mental health issues, for them to go and seek help. The organization also encourages people to share and "be vocal" about their own experiences. In the documentary, she explains her struggles with bipolar disorder, eating disorders, as well as addiction to various drugs, specifically cocaine.

4. Her music is empowering.

While listening to her new album, Tell Me You Love Me, all I could feel was a sense of empowerment while listening to the lyrics. Her hit single from the album, Sorry Not Sorry has lyrics like, "Feelin’ like a ten, the best I've ever been", showing the importance of loving yourself. Demi has struggled with loving the body she's in due to her eating disorder, which causes her to be body dysmorphic since she was a little girl. Through her new music, she is expressing her new mindset to love herself and be confident and influences her fans to do the same.

5. She is living proof that things will get better.

Her song on the album, You Don't Do It For Me Anymore, is a way for her to say goodbye to her old habits, like a letter to her old self. She sings lyrics like, "The hell I was doing in my past?" and "Money won't pay for your problems. You gotta fix them yourself". These lyrics are examples of Demi's growth throughout her experience with addiction and proving to herself that things are getting better for her. Demi has received years of therapy and has been doing everything she can do to get better. If you look on her Instagram, she does a lot of exercising in order to relieve stress and continues her journey of recovery through therapy sessions as well. In her documentary she explains she is continuing to get help with her eating disorders but continues to struggle with them every once in a while she relapses.

6. She does the unexpected.

In the album Tell Me You Love Me she came back stronger than ever. Demi blew her fans away with the music video for Tell Me You Love Me featuring the one and only, Jessie Williams. This music video was extremely intense, started with a couple disagreeing, then on their wedding day, Jessie Williams left her at the altar because he wasn't ready yet, or not happy enough. Demi continues to shock her fans and gets them excited about what she will release next.

7. She's been through hell and back.

Demi Lovato continues to inspire me every day. She has been through a lot; especially in her family life, as well as bullying at school. As a child, she would get bullied and thought that to fit in she would try drugs and alcohol, and at the age of 17, she was addicted to cocaine. She was raised by an alcoholic and drug addict father, and "searched for what he saw in those things". She also experienced her Dad being very absent after the divorce of her parents, which also contributed to her depression. She represents that even if you feel like nothing good can happen out of bad situations, she still found the light at the end of a dark tunnel. She has survived so many hardships and continues to work hard, stay motivated, and do what she loves, singing.

8. She's passionate about what she does.

She puts all of her effort into everything she does. She is a perfectionist in the best way possible. All of her music has emotion and passion. She uses her emotion to express what she has been through and how she is much stronger now. She has given her all in everything she does, even in the hardest of times.

9. When she was in a bad place, she never gave up.

Demi has grown up with a great deal of pressure to be successful in both her acting career as well as her singing career. Although, as a 17-year-old doing cocaine, it seemed to go downhill from there. Her managers and the people around her described her as, "black and white". One day she would want to get better and the other days she would lose all hope and motivation; which depression does to a person. But in the end, when her managers threatened to unsign with her, she began to realize what she needed to do in order to get healthy again and be successful to achieve what she wanted. Demi is a symbol for all of us that even at your lowest points, it's important to continue fighting no matter what.

10. She puts herself first.

Demi Lovato was in a 6-year relationship with Wilmer Valderrama, better known as Fez from That 70's Show. She described their love as, "love at first sight". After feeling this immense amount of love, heartbreak was waiting to strike because she also went through an extremely tough breakup with him. She said she still loved him and it wasn't because she fell out of love, but simply because she was still in the recovery process. She still had to learn how to fully love herself before she could love another person. Therefore, she was aware that she still had growing to do and chose to love herself before anyone else. A true model of how even if you're in a deep, loving relationship, self-care should always come first.