“Women of the Year” by GQ Magazine

But life didn’t start out all rosy for Simi. She had to overcome her share of tremendous hardships. Simi has gone through about every hardship you could think of. From having been abandoned and growing up without her father, to immigrating to the US at only 14 years old to losing her mother to cancer, to becoming a young single mother at the age of 21, Simi felt hopeless and lost. Being a young teen in a strange country, trying to legalize her status in the US, all the while taking care of her cancer-stricken mother and being a 21-year-old single mom, Simi had to overcome countless obstacles. Many times, she was tempted to take the easy road to help pay the bills for her sick mother or help provide for her daughter. At 15 years of age, Simi started working as a salesgirl on Rodeo Drive and a hostess at a restaurant in Beverly Hills. She was a determined young girl, working hard to make money to provide and pay her mother’s hospital bills. There wasn’t a day that went by, that she wasn’t approached by men who suggested to quit her “undesirable jobs” to just be taken care of. That she was too pretty to work these jobs and could make money much easier than this. At 21 Simi became engaged and had a baby girl with a very famous producer and manager whom she met working on Rodeo Drive. It wasn’t long before the relationship ended in a very violent, painful and public break up. Simi found herself a single mom at 21. Illegal, broke and now taking care of not only her mother but now a child. Simi had to reinvent herself all by herself. Create a life for herself because she learned, nobody was going to give it to her, at least not without a price to pay. Simi’s mother eventually lost her battle with cancer and the father of her child passed away as well leaving most of his money, true to Hollywood style, to his housekeeper of 20 years.

In 2015, one year after the death of her beloved mother, Simi founded The Maria Gruber Foundation. Simi’s mother passed away from a deadly cancer and Simi literally saw her mother pass rather quickly before her eyes. Simi was a single mother at the time and had no support groups. The Maria Gruber Foundation was created to provide educational tools to help parents, children, and loved ones affected by terminal illness. Parts of Perfect 12’s proceeds go towards her foundation to help families and their loved ones in their battle against terminal cancer. Being an entrepreneur and her own boss allowed Simi to devote the time needed to create and run this non-profit organization.

Simi also found time to produce two successful holiday movies, Beverly Hills Christmas and This is our Christmas, which aired throughout the holiday seasons of 2016 and 2018 and won an award for Best TV Movie.

From hardships that could’ve and should’ve broken Simi, to rising above and becoming a successful model and actress gracing the magazines across the globe to an award-winning entrepreneur with numerous striking accomplishments, Simi Fusco is the embodiment of the cutting-edge lady’s image of achievement who is presently driving the path for other women. Brilliant and business savvy, she demonstrates that with determination and a great deal of heart, you truly can have it all.

Pitfalls of Social Media

Statistics say that 2 out of 3 people feel pressure to look good and close to a third of teens have been exposed to cyberbullying. Teens spend all of their free time on social media. In fact, they spend an average of 9 hours a day on social media. Tweens (ages 8-12) spend an average of 6 hours a day on social media. Teens, in particular girls are targets for cyber bullying. Posting pictures and getting likes and comments becomes an addiction. It’s an addiction to feel validation from strangers and peers that in turn has detrimental effects on their self-esteem and creates mental health issues, irritability, and anxiety. Researchers have shown that teens demonstrate symptoms comparable to drug withdrawal when removed from social media.

Comparing

Social media increases the negative impact of comparison for teens. That’s because they compare themselves to an artificial reality of altered images. Most images on social media and in magazines are photoshop manipulated. Teens tend to focus on attractiveness and popularity when they engage in comparison. As a result, teens feel that their own accomplishments and physical appearance aren’t enough. This can be discouraging and create self esteem problems, depression, body image problems, and anxiety.

Effects of bullying:

In the meantime, here are some tips with how to deal with a bully:

• Talk to an adult
• Talk to the bully
• Be confident
• Ignore the bully
• Surround yourself with your real friends and support each other