When organizing our Beyond Profiles campaign with Cybersmile Foundation I immediately thought of Sydney Gordon to get her thoughts on working with us. Being in the industry, I know that what you see on TV isn't always real. Especially reality TV where it is the producer's job to edit the content and put out a wildly entertaining show that will capture the attention of people of all ages. After the show aired, people took this edit too seriously, not understanding that Sydney is not the person she was made out to be. Sydney was immediately cyberbullied and attacked  - one of the worst I've ever seen. It didn't stop. It was viral, it was a wildfire, it was ruining her life and wellbeing. No  social media user one seemed care. As long as they could go viral, as long as they could bring someone down, as long as they could take their problems out on someone besides themselves. Sydney received social hate, threatening phone calls, people harassing her family and trying their hardest to ruin her business she worked so hard to build. Sydney couldn't leave bed and had crippling anxiety. She was crushed.

After speaking with Sydney, she felt drawn to support the campaign by sharing her personal story. Ultimately she hopes to use her story to get this important conversation started, end cyberbullying and help others struggling. When we met up, I was shocked at what people had said about Sydney, because that is not her. She is thoughtful, intelligent, genuine and sweet. To know Sydney is to love her. After chatting with her, you immediately want to be her friend - you feel like you've known her for years. What broke my heart is that all of the people cyberbullying Sydney don't know the real her. They know an edit for entertainment. It was important for her to come on and finally share her story. Nothing has been edited. 

Sydney Gordon // IG