San Diego native Cedrice is confident, radiant, and currently in the national spotlight.
But as she works to advance to the next round of competition on NBC’s "The Voice," the La Mesa resident has already made her mark by sharing her compelling personal story.
At the age of 10, Cedrice Webber, now 28, was diagnosed with alopecia areata, a condition where hair is lost from some or all areas of the body. She endured severe bullying, fell into depression, and wore wigs.
But in her late teens, she began to share her story on social media and through YouTube videos. She received support from around the world.
In 2012, while taking a communications class at Cuyamaca College, she took off her wig as part of public speaking assignment. At the time, she shared her story with NBC7.com.
“At that time, I was thinking, 'OK, I’m willing to step into this whole other chapter in my life. Let’s start embracing this.' And now I’m feeling so much more confident than I did before, but there’s so much more that I’m going to learn,” said Cedrice.
Cedrice has now chosen to embrace her identity even further. Three years ago, she began to shave her head, and began to sing publically.
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Recently, she performed in the so-called Battle Round on The Voice, and was selected by country music superstar Blake Shelton to continue her run on the program.
“When Blake stole me to be on his team and to just move straight on to the Knockouts, I was completely thrilled, and you can see in my jump, I was like 'YES!' All grace went out the door. I was just completely ecstatic,” said Cedrice.
Cedrice will soon be competing for a spot among the finalists on the program. All the while, continuing as a motivational speaker, and maintaining a strong presence on social media in an effort to inspire others.
“I think my message would be, create a space that allows you to be the person you want to be. Your space entails everything around you, including your mind and everything inside of you -- your thoughts, your words, the people you surround yourself with, the things that they say, the books you surround yourself with, the social media that you follow," Cedrice said. "Really create a space that allows you to be the person you want to be."
