“It took me 1 hr and 45 mins to do my makeup everyday. ‘No, it only affects your skin color and nothing else.’ People called me a cow, a Dalmatian, a spotted n-word… I say ‘never live in fear.'”
‘What are YOU looking at?!’ Why would they say those things to me? I became someone I didn’t recognize.’: Woman with Vitiligo finds self-love, ‘I no longer walk in fear’
‘My husband sat me down. ‘I hate seeing you in constant pain. You’re good enough if you don’t breastfeed.’: New mom embarks on motherhood journey, ‘She’s our fresh start’
“The pain was excruciating. I cried every time I fed her. I felt like I couldn’t provide for my child. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”
‘I can’t hear youuuu, I’m deaf!’ Kids mocked me. I started to realize the world wasn’t so kind.’: Deaf woman advocates for change, ‘I’m just as human as you are’
“Some thought they should speak loud and slow, as if I was dumb and incapable. ‘Young lady, I want a cappuccino, you know COFFEE with FOAM?!’ Others tipped me too much and said things like, ‘I admire your strength and positivity.’”
‘I was surrounded by beautiful fat women I adored and admired, and I watched them hate their bodies.’: Woman shares self love journey, ‘I move with freedom’
“I saw my mom tell herself she’d get back into her size 10 Levi’s someday. I saw women in bikinis being ridiculed on magazine covers. My body was something I was stuck inside of that I wasn’t happy with.”
‘Their disabilities seemed SO different, how do I bridge the gap?’ I matched with Ryan. He was friends with EVERYONE.’: Woman advocates for those with Down syndrome, ‘We all want to be valued’
“There wasn’t a person Ryan wasn’t friends with, or Ryan wouldn’t be friends with in the near future. He’s more similar to me than different.”
‘Doctors told me, ‘It will be a painful death.’ Instead of feeling sorry for myself, I made history.’: Man shares journey with Cystic Fibrosis, becomes youngest person with CF to complete marathon’
“My mom had me put headphones on so I didn’t have to hear the heart-crushing news. I chose not to make excuses, I put every last ounce of myself into fighting.”
‘You look HOT!’ They’d say. ‘I guess this is my life now.’ I was a dimmer set to the lowest setting.’: Woman overcomes eating disorder, ‘My body is designed to keep me alive, not look a certain way’
“I felt ALIVE again, and I used this as motivation to move forward. It was my ‘aha’ moment.”
‘NO! I’m not willing to give this up for ANYTHING!’ I thought no one else could love me.’: Woman finds peace after abusive relationship, ‘If your compassion does not include yourself, it’s incomplete’
“Don’t assume a man or a ring can make you feel the love and acceptance you’re longing for.”
‘I TOLD you, I’m blind. I can’t anymore.’ His response surprised me. ‘So?’ My new life began.’: Man shares journey learning to live visually impaired, ‘Fail, get up, keep moving forward’
“I biked into the back of a parked car. There was a group of people on the other side of the street laughing. I thought to myself, ‘I knew this would happen, you don’t belong on a bike anymore.’”
‘I was striving for unattainable perfection.’: Woman with Cerebral Palsy shares battle with PTSD, ‘I was BORN to thrive’
“I didn’t see an end in sight. I stayed up for 32 hours straight as panic attacks caused me to blackout, resulting in concussions. I was tired. I was done.”