Lizzie Velasquez
The world is obsessed with beauty and Lizzie Velasquez used to be one of the victims of society's most superficial individuals.
She was deemed "The World's Ugliest Woman" because of a rare congenital condition she suffers from, and Velasquez finds herself having absolutely no body fat and unable to gain weight.
Growing up, Velasquez has been the subject of many cruel taunts and comments. But the strong and unbeatable spirit inside her compelled Velasquez to use her situation for the better. Instead of wallowing in depression, she created a YouTube channel and began video blogging, where she would share snippets of her daily life.
"I don't know these people, but turning on my camera and pressing record is like opening a small window into my life for people who might need a friend or who are watching my videos because they don't have a social life or are stuck at home or whatever they may be, and because of that, it makes me feel good to share my life," she told MTV.
Now, she is the star of a movie called A Brave Heart, and her film has inspired so many people that random strangers would just come up to her and thank her. For her part, Velasquez wants to thank the person who called her "the world's ugliest woman" in the first place.
"I would absolutely say thank you," she said. "Absolutely. Because if I never found that video, it wouldn't have been the spark to change everything. I think I'd still be in a way helping people but I don't know if it not the same way as now. I wouldn't be mad. I'd be so grateful, which sounds so crazy. It changed everything."
She actually has a couple of tips to share people about confidence. Her first advice is to be yourself. "You have to be fully aware and confident that you are enough just being you," Velasquez said. "That's enough! You don't have to live up to anyone else's standards, you don't have to look like anyone else, you don't have to compare yourself to anyone else."
Her next advice is something she learned to deal with herself, and that is to roll with the punches. It's difficult, Velasquez said, but people can learn to enjoy life more if they take whatever comes their way and not let it drag them down.
Velasquez also promoted the importance of self-love. "A few years ago I did this thing that I now call the Love Yourself List, where I wrote down everything that I love about myself, whether it's physically or my personality," she said. "I posted the list on my bathroom mirror to where I would see it every single day and I read it until I believed it instead of just looking at the words."
Her next advice is to fake it until you make it. Back in high school, she developed a desire to become a motivational speaker but had no clue as to how to do it. "I went home and googled 'how to be a motivational speaker' and made a website. I said if you need a speaker, I'm your girl. I didn't tell that that I'd only done one speech ever and didn't know anything," she shared.
Another thing Velasquez wanted people to learn is that it's okay to have bad days. She would allow herself to break down and cry on certain days just to let all the negativity out. But after that, it's a completely different ballgame. Velasquez actually said that this process keeps her sane.
