Can you imagine how you would feel if you were called ugly?
I can speak for all of us, when I that none of us would enjoy that feeling.
Lizzie was in high school when someone posted a video of her labelling her as the ugliest woman in the world.
And that video had four million views. Furthermore, the videos had comments like “do us a favour and kill yourself”.
So, can you imagine how heartbreaking it might have been for her at that time?
Our world has decided and put up a beauty standard on everything.
People have labels for something being beautiful or not.
Unfortunately, these standards come from a lack of understanding of real beauty.
Promoting the idea of declaring someone as beautiful based on their outer appearance should not be as common. Sadly, such beauty standards surround us.
Growing up as Lizzie Velasquez
Lizzie Velasquez was born four weeks prematurely on March of 1989 in Texas.
She was born with a very rare and previously undiagnosed non-terminal genetic disorder.
This disease prevents people from gaining weight.
So, she was only 1.2 kilograms when she was born and has reportedly never weighed more than 29 kgs in her whole life.
Undeniably Lizzie did have a difficult time growing up.
There were cases of her being bullied. But her parents gave her all the love and support that they could possibly could.
Even after the doctors told her parents after she was born that she would probably not be able to stand or walk or eat, her parents were ready to give her the best life that they could.
She was bullied through elementary school where her dad was a teacher.
And she says how her dad did things whenever he found her in the hallway to take the attention away from her to him.
Similarly, she faced a lot of criticisms and bullies. But she never let them stop her.
Why support from parents was important for Lizzie Velasquez
Through her motivating video Lizzie has told us how her parents helped her recognize her voice.
She encourages parents, doctors, teachers and anyone who is elder to help find the younger one their voice.
She tells a story of how when she was only a kid she saw no difference between her and the other kids.
While starting kindergarten she felt completely normal.
When she approached another kid on the first day of her school, the other kid acted shocked and scared.
However, Lizzie couldn’t understand why she was treated that way until later.
This small story is so significant for everyone of us. We should understand how kids don’t differentiate on their own.
Kids imitate and learn from the adults. At the same time, Lizzie’s parents didn’t make her feel any different.
Her parents raised her as normally as they could and gave her the best possible life.
Lizzie Velasquez’s Story Motivates Us All
It is so motivating to hear Lizzie Velasquez talk about her struggles.
But she is full of positivity and optimism. When she talks about how people bullied her, it breaks my heart.
Yet, she smiles as she leads us through her powerful stories of courage.
Most of the times people ask for more. We always want more than what we already have.
Likewise, when Lizzie suffered as a young girl, she prayed to have a normal life.
The normal life that we have taken for granted, she prayed for it.
But, she didn’t give up. Even when strangers asked her to kill herself, she didn’t think of quitting.
Instead she use the negativity from the critics and used it to her strength.
Sometimes, bullies try to get the best of us. People tell us what we can and can’t do. But she proved all of these people wrong.
Her message of Acceptance, Kindness and Love
Lizzie Velasquez has continually expressed her thoughts towards bullying.
She has continually raised her voice against such issues.
Lizzie has published several books from ‘Be beautiful, Be you’ to ‘Dare to Be Kind: How Extraordinary Compassion Can Transform Our World’.
These books are all directed towards using your inner voice.
Developing your passion and transforming negative voices of people for to achieve your goals.
