“I’m a closet Web MD researcher. I typed in all the things I was born with and a term popped up. Low and behold, there were kids all around the world that looked like me! I’ve always made up wild exaggerations as to why I was born this way. Now, I need no answer. For the first time in my life, I can say, ‘Me too.'”
‘What’s wrong with her? Can it be fixed?!’ I had wide-set eyes, webbed fingers. People can’t help but stare.’: Woman meets child with similar Craniofacial differences, ‘I hit the jackpot and found belonging’
‘Excuse me, my child has a question about your face.’ Others pulled their kids away like I shouldn’t be looked at.’: Woman with Craniofacial differences reminds us to use ‘kindness’ to approach uniqueness
“In middle school, kids started to stare and ask, ‘Why does your face look smooshed? What’s wrong with your nose?’ My mom would tell me how pretty I was and I’d always say, ‘You’re my mom, you have to say that.’ I’d spend so much time buying cuter clothes, different makeup, more jewelry to overshadow my face. But when I stripped it all down, my confidence was gone.”
‘I have stretch marks, saggy skin, a weird fat fold around my C-section scar. I don’t really love myself. This has to stop.’: Mom insists weight does not define us, cannot keep letting ‘my imperfections consume me’
“I can’t pass this on to my daughters. I can’t have them looking at their bodies in search of flaws. I don’t want them to put all of their worth in what they see in the mirror. I want them to know, what I still am trying to convince myself. We might have fat, but we are not fat. This is not WHO we are.”
‘If not your breasts, they’ll attempt to convince you your worth depends upon your thigh gap, complexion, weight.’ Mom shuts down 8-year-old daughter thinking her body is ‘flawed’
“My darling girl, there is something I must get off my chest before you grow into yours. As you get older, society, men, even some women, will try to convince you that your breasts — their size, shape, level of ‘perky’ — are what define you as a woman. Hear me clearly when I firmly inform you, they are wrong.”
‘I removed my breast implants. Within minutes, I was attacked by a man. ‘You look like a little boy. Where did your breasts go?’ It felt like a punch in my gut.’
“He proceeded to tell me that smaller chests were meant for middle school and that real women had ‘grown up’ bodies. Ouch.”
‘He had a stranger over at my house where my kids sleep. My entire 10-year marriage was a lie.’: Woman credits husband’s infidelity with life- changing weight loss
“In one night, I found out I weighed over 400 pounds. I also found out I was pregnant and losing a baby in one breath. That moment was a severe wake-up call I needed to change my life. I didn’t realize how much my husband’s infidelity had affected me until I stepped on that scale. I left him without a car and without a plan.”
‘My husband told me breast implants would help ‘spice things up’. I was 22 and wanted to feel feminine. I constantly found him viewing pornography, which made me feel undesirable.’
“My joints were swollen and I couldn’t wear my wedding ring anymore. My hair started falling out in chunks that would clog the drain. I figured it was just part of being a new mom and shook it off. No doctor could figure out what was wrong.”
‘I was pregnant. I was only 21. I started bleeding. ‘Maybe it’s for the best,’ one family member said. This was supposed to be the happiest time of my life. Instead, it was a nightmare.’
“Josh came home. He suggested we go for a walk, but when I told him to just take our daughter. He couldn’t understand why – and that’s when I lost it. I was screaming at everyone, ‘WHY AM I HERE? I DON’T UNDERSTAND. WHAT IS THE POINT.’”
‘Hours shy of our wedding, at 5 months pregnant, I was assaulted. ‘I don’t know what is wrong with me,’ my fiancé said, begging me to forgive him.’: Woman files for divorce with 3 children, now living their ‘best life’ after bonding together through trauma
“My fiancé sat in the fetal position, berating himself. With 3 children, I filed for divorce. It meant food stamps. We all shared the same bed. I decided to do the craziest thing – leave a stable job to fly for the airlines. Single moms don’t do that, right? As I shut down the engine, I could hear my kids yelling, ‘Mommy!’ I was NOT broken.”
‘I could sense a different tone in his voice. ‘Are you ok?,’ I asked. ‘It’s complicated.’ Panicked, I said, ‘We aren’t okay?’ He replied, ‘I don’t want to talk anymore.’ And the conversation ended.’
“I was so excited for my husband to get home from work that night. I decided to give him a call to see how far out he was. It was a conversation that would completely change my life. I couldn’t believe this was happening. I had no idea why it was happening.”
