Celebrant Pam Meily Vetter


	Celebrating Life Everyone Has A Story...

Dominique Ann Portanova was an only child born to her parents Beth and Ronald in Athens, Ohio, in September 1987. She was raised in Ohio.

At the age of five, she decided she liked being called "Nikki" and has been called Nikki ever since. She was sophisticated and mature beyond her years her entire life. She was inquisitive and asked a lot of questions and was ready from the beginning to absorb everything! She was always trying to figure out how she fit into this world.

The family celebrated the traditional holidays: Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Of course, there are numerous photos and videos to capture those moments!

In addition, life was celebrated by the many family trips. They visited the Outer Banks of North Carolina because Nikki loved the beach. And, when she fell in love with wolves, the family visited the Wolf Park in Indiana. A favorite trip was to France to enjoy great food and a wonderful culture.

Growing up, Nikki enjoyed swimming, ice skating, and singing. One of her favorite singing events was performing Camina Burana with the Children's Choir at the University of Ohio as part of the Universities Choir and orchestra presentation.

She could play the piano by ear, she dabbled with acting, and she had the innate ability to write poignant stories. Later on, she wrote soul-searching songs and adored listening to many genre of music. She most recently was enjoying instrumental songs with a cutting edge.

Nikki was an artist from a young age. She had natural talent for drawing and her creative side was always present. As a young adult she took a few classes at the Art Institute in Santa Monica focusing on Graphic Design. Drawing came so naturally to Nikki. Her works are extraordinary! She took her passion for technology, her love for the iPhone, admiration for its creator and poured out her heart on paper the day Steve Jobs passed away, by creating an incredible portrait in pencil.

Nikki was sometimes beyond her years. She loved cars and when she was 17, she bought a car on E-bay. Everything seemed possible to Nikki.

After graduating from high school, Nikki attended a year of college at the University of Ohio. And, then she moved to Southern California in June of 2006 to pursue a career in modeling. Nikki was beautiful and photogenic.

Nikki spent much time studying all aspects of human behavior and was intrigued by the workings of the human mind. She was highly intuitive regarding people and herself. She had a favorite saying she created which was based on a Winston Churchill quote, "I'm an enigma, wrapped in a riddle, and tied with a question."

She liked to research things on the computer because she always thought it was best to learn on her own. She liked doing things herself. She also had a poignant sense of humor – she was smart and clever.

Nikki liked the finer things in life, good food, stylish clothing and awesome jewelry. Nikki's latest passion was swimming for up to four hours a day, enjoying her childhood swimming memories, loving the freedom of movement through the water, and she, of course, was perfecting her swimming strokes! She was a determined young lady!

With her love of water and the sea, it makes sense that her favorite colors were pastel blues and greens... the colors of the sea.

Recently, she was helping her mother with pet sitting dogs in their home. This was a time that created special bonding with her mom and caused Nikki to explore the idea of a part-time career in pet sitting.

For the last year and a half, she was dating Patrick. They shared common interests in music and the world around them. Nikki happily celebrated her 25th birthday with her mom and Patrick. Her birthday was a wonderful day.

In her personal life, Nikki's happiest moments were being in her own head, thinking, drawing and creating.

Nikki will be remembered as beautiful, creative, artistic, moody at times, but caring, giving, honest and extremely loyal – loyalty was very important to her.

Although Nikki was non-judgmental and she didn't like giving advice, she would tell everyone to do what you need to do and do what you want to do in life. This brings to mind a quote Nikki said she liked and posted on Facebook, "Now if you will excuse me, I've got to do whatever I want all the time."

We miss hearing Nikki laugh, seeing her cry, seeing her smile, and seeing her live her life.

NIKKI ME

Nikki me what I feel - what I see
Free from worries
Free to be
When I stroke through waters at ease
Floating relaxed feels like a nap
No Obstacle – NO crap
Water my breath – water my air
I fly above the fray in my own special way
From water and flight
I begin to write
Thoughts form words poured in practiced strokes
Expressing many passions evoked
Awake and free
A hint of glee
I draw – I paint
Yes! It's another wonderful part of me
Displaying what my mind sees
While everyone lets me be
Energy released from deep inside
Flowing like an incoming tide
I sing aloud
Pushing away the clouds
I hum quietly stilling emotions trying to be loud
(Oh - And by the way)
One must sing softly when dealing with a crowd
Now I speak
I do not let the words just leak
I just say it
Straight forward - direct hit
I say why be vague
Be unsure in words
Get it - get what you heard
Nikki me - I feel peace – said my say
I'm swimming in the Milky Way
Painting a canvas
Catching a new wave
I'm drawing the stars
Mooning the moon
Flying afar
Who knows - I might head straight towards Mars

Donations can be made in Nikki's name to Born This Way Foundation via this link: bornthiswayfoundation.org