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OGDEN -- A 7-year-old girl will soon have the chance to meet one of her favorite Hollywood idols.
Brittanie Jacobsmeyer is a little shy, especially when the cameras are rolling. Most days she is rambunctious, full of life and extremely protective of her little brother Nehemia. The two are best friends, Brittanie says, and they play well together.
"Like last night, we played this game, like he's driving and there's a whole bunch of trees, and I say, ‘close your eyes' and I hit him," Brittanie said.
"Never close your eyes in the forest," she added with a little chuckle.
Brittanie also reads to her brother often and helps him learn new things.
"Every time he had a question right I'd say ‘ding ding ding,' " she said. "Every time he didn't have it right, I'd say ‘eee eee.' "
In her short life, though, Brittanie has endured some tough times. Her grandmother Merrym Bruce said Brittanie has been like a mother to her baby brother since she was 3 years old, "changing diapers, feeding him, changing him, keeping him as clean as she could."
Meanwhile, Bruce said, her mother and boyfriend have been on drugs. Brittanie and Nehemia suffered abuse and neglect, but now, Bruce has custody of her two grand kids.
So for Brittanie's birthday, her grandmother bought some tickets to see one of her favorite Hollywood starlets, Selena Gomez, when she comes to perform in Utah.
She deserves it for everything she does and does for everyone else, and for everything she's gone through in her short, little life.
–Merrym Bruce
"She sings good and she's nice," Brittanie said.
It's a birthday present her grandmother could barely afford, but she said it was worth every cent. And it became even better when concert organizers heard Brittanie's story and offered her backstage passes to meet Selena.
"She deserves it for everything she does and does for everyone else, and for everything she's gone through in her short, little life," Bruce said.
Next week, Brittanie will get to see Selna Gomez in concert at the Maverick Center with back stage passes. It will be a chance for her to be a kid at least for a few hours.
Email: niyamba@ksl.com
