Baby Ariel - Dreaming Out Loud

For Jacob,

I love you from here to the stars and back again

(infinity times)

Contents

Whats up, guys? Its Ariel! Welcome to my book!

I know most of you know me from social media, but it feels great to be here giving you a deeper glimpse into who I am behind the photos and videos. Ive always been someone who loves to write stuff down and Ive always been the most transparent in writingtheres something therapeutic about putting your thoughts on paper. Ive been keeping journals since I was in preschool: every night at bedtime, Id dictate to my parents and theyd write the words down for me. When I got to kindergarten and mastered the alphabet, it got a little easier. Now I probably have about twenty journals with my thoughts, ideas, and dreams for the future.

What Ive always loved about keeping a diary is that I could write about absolutely anything in the world, and the only person who got to read it was me. But that all changes with this book. Dreaming Out Loud is your chance to get to know me in a different way, to see what makes me excited and happy and even angry and sad. A little warning: I like to get creative and doodle in my journalit just makes things so much more fun. So youll also see my scribbles throughout the pages.

Right here up front Ill let you in on a little secret: the fact that Im where I am today (thirty million followers on social media and three songs on the charts) is kinda crazy. What I want you to know is that Im just a normal seventeen-year-old, and I have no idea how or why it all happened the way it did. But I do feel extremely blessed to be on this journey. Part of it is luck, I guessbeing in the right place at the right time. The other part is being super comfortable with who I am and never being afraid to be uniquely myself. My parents instilled this mantra in me: dream big and dream out loud. Never hold back on what moves you, motivates you, makes you laugh, cry, or wanna scream. You gotta put yourself out therewhich is one of the reasons Im sharing all of this with you. I want you to become someone who isnt afraid to dream out loud. You have so much amazingnesswhy not share it with the universe? Its the key to social media success and the key to success in life in general: everyone has a voice, everyone has something to say, so SAY IT! (Get it?... SAY IT... YOU KNOW YOU LAUGHED.)

Another thing about how I dream: always in bright, vivid, splashy Technicolor. No black-and-white for me. You know when Dorothy arrives in Oz for the first time and everything is bursting with the colors of the rainbow? Thats kinda how my mind works, even when Im sleeping. So I organized this book into colored sections. If youre feeling blue, flip to the Im dreaming of... Blue section for tips on how to cheer yourself up, boost your confidence, or survive an embarrassing moment. Do you have a huge crush on a guy or girl in school? The Im dreaming of... Red section is where you go for romance and relationship advice.

I want you to take your time going through these pages and, if something speaks to you, let it inspire your own story. Thats the thing: we all have stories to tell, which is why I love Story Time videos so much and make a whole lot of them for you on my YouTube channel! These are videos about moments in my life that I cant forget (even if I really, really want to). This entire book is about those moments. Some are pretty random, while others are about people and places and things that stand out in my mind as an experience that shaped the person I am and the person Im becoming. I wanted to fill every chapter with what makes me tick, and all my observations and opinions about the ups and downs and the struggles I have been through along this journey. At least, the journey so fartheres a long, winding road still ahead! Im excited to see where it takes me, and I hope you are, too.

xo,

(P.S. I highly recommend reading this book while eating white cheddar popcorn, its the best snack in the world, just saying.)

WHITE is the color of new beginnings, fresh starts, infinite possibilitiesa blank page to write and sketch.

I was born on November 22, 2000, at 2:22 p.m. at Memorial Hospital West in Pembroke Pines, Florida. I still live in the same area today in a four-bedroom, one-story house with a pool in the backyard, along with my mom, my dad, my brother, Jacob, and my puppy, Bleu (a crazy, fluffy white Maltipoo). My dad, Jose, is from Panama, and my mom, Sharon (pronounced Sha-rone), was born in New Jersey. My moms parents are from Cuba and Israel, while my dads were born in Spain and Panama. Ive also got Russian, Czechoslovakian, and German blood running through me.

My mom described me as the sweetest soul, when I was a baby, always perfectly happy and content. My name means lioness of God, which I think is pretty fierce, and my parents nicknamed me Wiggle Worm and Gushy Monster. I loved to snuggle up with my stuffed bunny, and my favorite toy was a marching Mickey Mouse doll that sang a parade song when you squeezed his hand. I had the biggest blue eyes and the chubbiest cheeks. My parents called me their Curious George, always wide-eyed and crawling around everywhereespecially places I wasnt supposed to be, like under tables or inside the kitchen cabinets. When I still had zero teeth, I loved applesauce and mashed banana. But judging from some of my high chair pics, I wore more of my meal than I ate. I would also finger-paint the tray of my high chair with all my colorful cuisinesuch an artist.

Mom tells me I had the biggest sense of humor for a little kid. Whether something was funny or not, I always laughed and tried my hardest to make people crack up. Case in point: as a toddler, I decided for a while that I was Tarzan. Did I care that Tarzan was a guy who lived in a jungle with apes and sported long hair and a loincloth? I think... NOT. I loved the Disney movie so much, I would literally undress myself and run around in public in my underwear, banging on my chest and doing the Tarzan call as I jumped from the couch to the chair, swinging my jump rope like a vine. Now I like to tell silly jokes to people all the time and try to make them laugh. Here, Ill tell you my favorite:

Knock, knock!

Whos there?

Britney Spears.

Knock, knock!

Whos there?

OOPS, I DID IT AGAIN!!

Very stupid, but VERY FUNNY, I know.

My little brother, Jacob, was born when I was three. I was super excited to be a big sister and I somehow managed to appear in the delivery room while he was being born. No one noticed me standing there because they were all facing my mom, who was, you know, a little preoccupied herself. Eventually, in the middle of the delivery, Mom looked up and saw me standing there, wide-eyed, and said, Hi, angel! But then some nurse grabbed me and shuffled me out the door, and I missed Jacobs big entrance. Still, I loved that kid from the time he was in my moms tummy. I know a lot of siblings who fight constantly, but I consider myself lucky to get along so well with my brother. When we do argue, its usually over something stupid, like him barging into my room without knocking or hogging the AUX in the car for his music. Jacob and I have many similarities, which is why we get along. Our differences also bring us closer because we lean on each other for advice. For example, I am very stubborn and sometimes I need Jacob to remind me to be more open and forgiving. Likewise, I am there to encourage him to share his feelings when he closes up and wants to sit in his room and sulk. Our similarities tend to be on the creative side. We both love to read, write, watch movies, and go to the theater. We feel strongly about the need to express ourselves. Hes fourteen, and I know from experience that life can get complicated right about now. Ill always be there for him.