Have you ever been bullied as a child? It’s one of those things that sticks with you and can severely impact your life. That’s something that Alba Parejo knows too well.
She was born with a rare disorder and looked different all her life. And because of it, she was bullied horribly by others. Thankfully, now she accepts herself fully and wants to spread awareness of her condition.
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Alba Parejo was born with a rare form of congenital melanocytic nevus.
The condition causes large moles and dark patches of skin to form all over her body and face.
As a child, she was bullied relentlessly by her peers and other people for looking very different.
Some even called her a “dalmatian” or an “alien” because of how her skin looked.
She even went through about 30 surgeries to try to correct some of the areas on her skin.
However, the treatment turned out to be too painful to continue.
Alba admits she struggled with the way she looks for many years before she realized that the condition was part of her.
She began to slowly accept herself.
When she was 13 she would spend her whole days crying but with the help of her supportive family, friends, and psychologists she began to finally love herself.
Thankfully, these people showed her love and support.
She then decided to be more open about her condition and posted pictures of her skin on Twitter.
To her surprise, she received many positive comments and feedback from strangers.
Alba even entered a local competition to be the “face” of a shopping center and won.
Her pictures were displayed all over the areas where she lives.
She’s even been featured on buses, billboards, newspapers, and many magazines.
And she’s happy to share her story and bare her skin to the rest of the world.
All this positive feedback has made Alba believe in herself and she is now a body-positive model.
She models for many artists’ work and spreads awareness of her condition.
She no longer feels embarrassed and ashamed to let people see her marks and scars.
She wants others with the same condition to know it’s okay to love yourself.
This rare condition affects one in 20,000 people and Alba wants them to realize that their body is truly unique and beautiful.
It can take a long time, but models like Alba are helping these people embrace their beauty.
Alba now has a new found confidence and feels wonderful knowing that her speaking out is having a positive effect on other people who struggle with skin conditions.
It’s so important to see models like her in the industry.
She even encourages others to share their stories using the #BareYourBirthMark hashtag that she created.
She believes everyone is beautiful in their own way, skin marks and all.
This is such a beautiful and heartwarming story of overcoming such unbelievable obstacles.
Alba is a true champion of body acceptance and positivity that we need to see more of.
