Literally Broken Hearted

Lizzie Velasquez

I saw this woman on Taboo last night. Oh my goodness, I was in tears. She was such an inspiration.

Basically, Lizzie was born with a rare condition (so rare that only 3 people in the world have it) called Neonatal Progeroid Syndrome. She eats 5,000-8,000 calories a day and literally cannot gain weight. She weighs about 50 pounds (I can’t remember the exact number). She is also blind

She went online and found that she had been named “The Ugliest Woman in the World”. People made comments such as asking why her parents didn’t abort her if they had known she’d be “that ugly” (they did not know she had a condition, but that is completely not the point) and giving her instructions on how to kill herself. She was bullied throughout her school years and continues to be bullied online. She also often is accused of being anorexic.

But did she break? Did she give up? No, she learned to stop comparing herself to others and persevere. She lives in Austin, TX and is a communications major at a university. She is also a motivational speaker, and has written two books. She also goes to schools and gives motivational speeches against bullying.

Her twitter is: @littlelizziev, her website: http://www.aboutlizzie.com/ (which is where I got these photos).

Anyway, this is the true definition of a hero and someone I should look up to.