Demi Lovato - Skyscraper (Interview with Cosmopolitan Magazine)

Demi has returned to Cosmopolitan Magazine to discuss her brand new single "Skyscraper"

Q: When was the song recorded and released

A: "we recorded the song twice, once before i went to rehab and once after, it just felt right to use the original recording, the song meant more to me at the time and all my true emotions were portrayed when i first recorded it"

Q: Could you describe to us all why you were in rehab? Also at an interview with Ryan Seacrest you described this release as a "cry for help", could you elaborate on that?

A: "it was a very difficult time for me, i was battling depression, anorexia and bulimia, people just find ways to put me down, i guess it comes with the fame, people pay more attention to everything, my scars from self harm were noticed, and of course criticised me for it, as was my body, i felt horrible about myself and was looking for any ways to change that. i remember going through the comments people had on my music videos and photo-shoots, calling out every flaw they could find, i tried to diet and exercise i just naturally do not have a high metabolism, so i resorted to other methods which had horrible outcomes."

Q: Why self harm?

A: "its a question thats asked a lot, many people do not understand it. its one of those things that you cant fully understand unless you've experienced yourself, which i should hope never happens. I just used it as a way to deal with everything. i could not control what happened on the inside, so i took control of myself on the outside."

Q: Do you regret resorting to such extreme methods to improve your body?

A: "this is going to sound a little bit odd, but no in face i do not, i'm not saying id like to go through it again obviously, i just think that i wouldn't be the person i am today if not been through it all, the eating disorders, the rehab.. all of it."

Q: Can you describe to us all the true definition behind the song 'Skyscraper'?

A: "first off ill start with this line that not many people quite understood, when i said 'run run run, i'm gonna stay right here, watch you disappear' i was referring to all the nasty people in the world who were judging me, also to the voices in my head that were making me do things that hurt me, i'm saying that i could rise above and ignore them all, which i did."

"and of course most importantly 'skyscraper', obviously we all know, a sky scraper is a large building, usually higher than most, the skyscraper is a representation of myself, i started off low, rock bottom, if you will, but i rose above it all, and defining myself as a skyscraper just explains my position when everything was bad to when it all got better, I've just rose above all the bad things."

Q: Do you have any advice for anyone battling any mental disorders or anything similar to your previous situation?

A: "when things get bad, its okay to ask for help, i hope that none of you have to go through what i went through, and i hope that no one feels as alone as i did to the point that they would harm themselves in any way. If you need it, ask for  help. Also if you do not like the way you look you always have to remember that theres always going to be someone who doesn't like you, or doesn't like what you look like, someone will always have something to say and i can honestly say no one is perfect, and no one can be perfect, but you don't need to prove yourself to anyone, as long as you love yourself you will be happy with your life."

 -657 words

Demi before and after her eating disorder.

Achievement Tests

Last class we had a heated debate discussing points in a story called 'mother tongue' by amy tan, who is a successful english writer, but at first she speaks about how she didn't really score so well in her english tests, and i think that is because tests do not portray your true ability in that subject. I believe that tests do not test your intelligence, they test your memory. 

I know of many successful people who really just do not test well, for example Albert Einstein, who did not do well in school and as we all very well know he was one of the smartest men of his time. And a famous quote he said really stuck with me; "everybody is a genius, but if you test a fish on its ability to climb a tree it will spend its whole life believing that is is stupid". When we focus on the things that people do wrong we are doing a very wrong thing. we are not giving them the support they deserve to do anything to their full potential. In the story Amy Tan discusses how she was directed to do anything but english because her marks showed otherwise, but she ignored their comments and went on to study english and now is very successful.

If we let a piece of paper with a mark on it determine our future we will not go very far in life, i think people should just choose something they are passionate about and stick with it, because in the end if you let people push you on a subject just because you get good marks then you will live your whole life feeling miserable, you may be successful, but success is not the only thing that matters.

Language & Culture

Language takes up a big part of everyones life, without language i wouldn't be able to communicate with people or express myself and my emotions. 

Growing up in jordan i was fortunate enough to grow up to be a bilingual person, i speak english and arabic fluently, and since I've only ever lived in Jordan or Abu dhabi I've never felt very excluded because in Jordan everyone speaks arabic and in Abu dhabi also its an arabic speaking country, apart from all the international people who live here, that speak english. since i speak both I've always been comfortable around people and I've never  really felt excluded.

But one point i want to touch upon is that, even though i am fluent in arabic, i grew up learning arabic in jordan; i have a jordanian/palestinian accent. I remember when i first moved to Abu dhabi the locals here couldn't understand my accent very well. Overtime i managed to adjust my accent and now i can have a normal conversation with any arab person from any country, I've also even learned some Egyptian and local slang words. So I've adjusted to the different culture quite well.

Culture, as so defined by the dictionary "the ideas, customs, and social behavior of a particular people or society."  which is basically just the lifestyle and rules to live by of a certain society/country.

Introducing Myself

My name is Alia i'm 16 years old and i'm Jordanian/Palestinian, but i live in Abu Dhabi and i go to raha international school. I love football and running and many other sports, also i love tanning and anything to do with a beach. I love math and english and i basically hate every other subject . this year i aim to be an honor roll student or at least come close. I want to achieve a 6 in either of my higher level subjects and i want to complete most of my CAS and extended essay. 
in the future my goal is to become a successful business woman.
I care about my family and my friends and making my parents proud school wise.
Since i lived in jordan my whole life and i only moved to Abu Dhabi two years ago i'm still a little bit used to the jordanian lifestyle, Abu dhabi is more than 80% international cultures and my school is mostly international, which means that there are a lot of different nationalities that i have to keep up with and respect.