Danica Jade Mera was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. Where she was rich in life and a family that loved and cherished her, she did grow up on the poorer side of the block. With young, unwed parents who did nothing but struggle to make ends meet, it really came as no shock. Her father was an over night supervisor for a grocery store while her mother worked at a fast food restaurant during the day. Living under meager circumstances, they did their best with what they had, even as they ended up applying for welfare and food stamps early on. Enjoying the little thiings in life, well, it took a greater meaning with them.

As she didn't have the luxury of having everything she could possibly want as a child, without the funds to do things such as learn an instrument, go away to camp or even go to day care? The one thing she did want, and gained was swimming lessons. This was taught by her grandmother who watched her during the day until she was old enough to be able to go to kindergarten. It was far too diffcult to say no to the bright smiling face. Then again, there was also that worry that it was a need given how even at such a young age she loved being in the kiddy pool in their backyard, running through the sprinklers or being in the tub. The real difficulty always being how to pull her away from the activities, never wanting to let go.

During her school age years, she continued on with her swimming lessons, which later came through The Boys & Girls Club. Later, choosing to want to give back to the community, and do what she loved most, she went on to get her life guarding badges and got a job with them to be a lifeguard at their facility. Aside from working as a lifeguard on weekends, she also picked up a part-time job at the same grocery store her father worked for. While doing all of this, she still continued on with her studies at school and did all of her homework. She didn't spend her money on regular things kids her age did. Knowing the value of a dollar and having worked hard for this, she used the funds she earned to help her family out while she was underage and living under their roof. She was also saving for college, to try and have less of a struggle than her parents when the time came. A wrench would be put into her plans though, when shortly after turning seventeen she found out she was pregnant with her then boyfriend’s baby. This caused her to have to adjust her plans and prepare for the arrival of their child.

Months after turning eighteen, she gave birth to their son, AJ. She was head over heels in love with her son. She couldn't have felt more love if she tried. This happiness wouldn't be allowed to last long, as tragedy struck and it changed her in more way than anyone could understand without having undergone it themselves. Three months after they had welcomed their son into the world, he was found dead. SIDS was deemed the culprit. She snapped, having come unhinged from the trauma. The world lost its luster and her parents and then boyfriend sought out counseling to try and keep her going. Even attempts to divert her attention back to work and school were somewhat managed, but still took time.

After all of her hard work and tragedy, she was finally accepted into college. The money that she had saved throughout the past two years, long gone, having used it to prepare for her unborn child and lay him to rest. Student loans were taken, in order to move onto the campus and major in her only prevailing passion, marine biology. The move was necessary as she couldn't live in that house anymore, not after what had happened. Later, she would find aroommate and move into a cheaper apartment, but she needed to focus. Picking up a job at the local aquarium, she felt like her luck was changing some, and still only wished that had been true years ago. Despite having stability and years behind her from the incident, she was never fully able to recover and still suffers from episodes, but she does the best she can.