Sometimes, the internet is a bad place. But sometimes? It can be one of the nicest, kindest places in the world.
That's what Nila Morton discovered when she nervously posted a few selfies. Those pictures went viral, and with that came some amazing discussions about disability.
She's a psych major at the University of South Carolina Upstate and YouTuber.
She's been building an impressive following on Instagram and Twitter — she's got over 19k followers between both platforms.
It's called Ullrich congenital muscular dystrophy. The condition causes severe muscle weakness and degeneration, as well as stiff joints.
Nila uses a wheelchair, which she happily refers to as her throne.
I love her already.
She is always in something fresh and cute. Whether it's over-the-knee boots, gorgeous dresses, or sleek af pants, she serves looks all over her Instagram.
On Sunday, she posted some new pictures that blew up overnight.
When she got home in the early hours of the morning, she decided to throw caution to the wind and post some pictures of the outfit she went out partying in.
Since she was already up late, she just threw them on the internet and decided she would go to bed.
That way, she'd sleep through the initial comments. "Just in case it backfired," she told Buzzfeed News.
"I usually don’t post pictures of myself when I have a nice dress on or when I go out...because I get nervous about comments since I’m not society's view of disability," Nila said.
"I decided that I should just post it because I felt beautiful and sexy."
The internet agreed. Within hours, her picture went viral. It was racking up tens of thousands of likes and retweets on Twitter.
"Getting that much positive feedback made me smile and anxious at the same time."
Luckily, the attention was so overwhelmingly positive that the negative comments got totally drowned out. People were hyping her up all over the place.
Like all viral tweets, Nila decided to thread hers and promote her other social media accounts.
She also said that her DMs are open and that she's single. Get it, girl.
"I know that some people had negative things to say, but I saw how people had my back, which made me realize that I should never be nervous to show off myself," she said.
"It did make me happy to know that it also gave other people motivation to embrace themselves online as well," she said.
Her putting herself out there resonated with so many people.
"Posting those photos became more than just showing off my cute fit — it became an opportunity...to show the world that I’m here with my disability and all," she said.
"I love my life just as it is. I love my wheelchair because it’s my throne."
Everyone clearly agreed with her. The replies under her tweet show her nothing but love.
