Not everyone can recognize a talent when they see one. And even when a talented person is obvious, not everyone wants to admit that the person is talented.
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta was born on March 28, 1986, in New York City. She was raised to an upper middle class Catholic family. Stefani was taught how to play the piano since a very young age, and that her parents believe that she was talented.
And indeed she was.
But again, just like others, Stefani was bullied, and many didn't believe that she would have a successful career. In university, Stefani's college peers even created a Facebook Page, dedicated to shame Stefani for trying to be famous.
It didn't take long for that Facebook Page to eat its own words, because years later, Stefani metamorphosed, and became a household name: Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga, was known back in university as Stefani Germanotta, and that she became a great superstar after undergoing adversity.
Her college peers created that Facebook Page, just when Stefani was starting her career in the entertainment industry.
Stefani was so passionate and dedicated, and that her college peers didn't like that.
And because of that, "Stefani Germanotta, you will never be famous" Facebook Page was Lady Gaga's little secret.
The page has photos of the young Stefani, who was at the time around 18 years of age, a frequent singer and piano player at local bars.
The group was peppered with comments, hates, and trolls, and accusing Stefani for being an "attention-whore."
Many others mocked her for her hip injury, and more.
But soon as Stefani becomes Lady Gaga and captivated the world, pretty much everyone was surprised.
It's worth noting that Stefani's college experience wasn’t the first time she experienced bullying.
Back in high school, Stefani was enrolled at Convent of Sacred Heart, an Upper East Side Catholic private school, and that was when she got her first taste of how cruel her peers could be.
"I used to do these really big Evita brows," Lady Gaga said.
"I used to self-tan, and I had this really intense tan in school, and people would say, ‘Why the fuck are you so orange, why do you do your hair that way, are you a dyke? Why do you have to look like that for school?’ I used to be called a slut, be called this, be called that. I didn’t even want to go to school sometimes."
Stefani also recalled how she had been picked up and thrown into a trash can by her so-called ‘friends’.
"What I had to do was go back further into my childhood and into my high school years. When I was bullied and made fun of for having big dreams," Lady Gaga said,
Stefani had also experienced being assaulted, and was left pregnant.
"I was 19 years old, and I was working in the business, and a producer said to me, 'Take your clothes off,'" she said. "I said no and I left, and they told me they were going to burn all of my music. And they didn't stop.”
Then, "the person who raped me dropped me off pregnant on a corner at my parents' house because I was vomiting and sick. Because I'd been being abused. I was locked away in a studio for months," she said,
But fortunately for her, her sufferings didn't stop Stefani from pursuing her passion.
And just like the aphorism that says "what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger," Stefani continued experimenting and learning.
Not only that she learned how to play classical piano, and singing, because she also took acting classes.
Years later, the rest is history.
Stefani is now known as Lady Gaga, the woman with that giant sunglasses, the "Poker Face", the "A Star is Born" celebrity, and the one who had famously worn the meat dress.
She became the recognizable superstar, the multitalented individual.
As a matter of fact, in 2019, Lady Gaga became the first person in history to win Oscar, Grammy, Bafta and Golden Globe, all in one year
But still, her past has left her scars.
"Bullying really stays with you your whole life. And it really, really never goes away. And I know you’re using words like ‘superstar’ and ‘most-Googled’ and ‘billions of YouTube [views].’ But I was never the winner. I was always the loser. And that still stays with me. And do I want to stick it to anybody? No. I just wanna make music," she said.