Sometimes, the world of a teenager can be difficult. Yes, it’s true. Kids can be mean and like to talk. They label you for what they think you are but do they really know you? Do they really know what makes you….you? What makes you act the way you act and say what you say and live the way you live is really unknown to them. You are really the only one who truly knows what your life is all about. People can label you but the label is usually wrong. For Courtney Belcher this is the case. She considers herself “label-less” because even though people seem quick to judge, she believes there really isn’t one right way to label her.

Music is a big part of Courtney’s life. Courtney listens to music that typical teenagers wouldn’t think twice about listening to. Bach and Beethoven are her favorite to listen to after a long, hard day at school to calm her.  If we all listened to Bach and Beethoven, maybe we would all be a lot more calm…..Wait a second! Courtney’s not a calm person. She goes on random walks down the road and sings at the top of her lungs and she doesn’t care if one person hears. She probably sings songs by Sleeping with Sirens and Secondhand Serenade. Cool. But Courtney’s not always random. She loves to read and write poetry. Her favorite book is The Fallen Series. She has written over 100 poems too! Creative is another good way to describe her.

Courtney loves to hang out with friends but she doesn’t really get the chance to. She usually has to watch her brother, Michael at home. But while she’s doing that she loves to hang out with her pets. She has a cat named Baby Girl and a hamster named Duff Man who has cancer. Her brother also has a hamster. She loves to let Duff Man sleep on her while she writes all that poetry.

Courtney has been in chorus for six years, not including elementary school. She enjoys singing in the chorus and also practicing on her own at home. Singing is one of the things she will never give up. She will always be singing, even as an adult. That’s another random thing about Courtney. She loves to write and read and sing and all that artsy stuff, but she wants to be something totally unexpected when she grows up. Courtney plans on going to school at ITT Technical Institutes to get her degree in technological design and to learn computer coding. After that she also wants to get a degree in nursing.

Some people are too afraid to stand out so when they see Courtney they see someone who is not afraid to do so. “On the days I wear different colored socks is when I’m in my best mood because life is too short to look around for matching socks,” explains Courtney.