You should be careful what you choose to see as a role model, whereas inspiration can come from anywhere.
With vitiligo, my skin is sensitive in extreme temperatures.
For me, honestly, the term 'role model' means for someone to be imitated, and I don't feel like anyone is to be imitated.
I've never been a die-hard Beyonce fan. I always thought she was inspirational and beautiful.
I faced challenges as a kid, but who hasn't? A lot of people have experienced far worse. I was bullied, sure, and it was painful at the time. I even quit high school to get away from it. But I've never been the kind of person to let my past predict my future.
Kids called me a cow and mooed at me.
I liked to hang around my mom's beauty salon, watching her do hair.
I love to play with make-up. I adapt my beauty look to my outfit, so as soon as I know what I'm wearing, I know if I want to go for a red lip or a smoky eye. I usually won't put those two together, but it all depends on what outfit I'm going for.
My confidence was more of a fake-it-until-you-make-it kind of thing. I tried to build my own confidence and not rely on the opinions of others.
If I'm running around or just hanging out at home, then I barely wear any make-up.
I've been doing my own makeup since I was 15. I would steal my mom's products, go online, watch YouTube videos of girls doing their makeup, and try.
I think you have to feel your best by yourself. I do think it's important to have a solid friend that you can turn to, though - one that you can vent to.
I am happy with my skin, and I'm proud of my skin, which is why I wear it so boldly. But if a job wanted me to, say, try a smoky eye and cover the vitiligo around my eye, I wouldn't have a problem with that.
I'm happy to inspire your seven-year-old child, but I do not want to be her role model.
With my skin, I have to avoid direct contact with the sun, so that, combined with my mom being conservative, meant I grew up wearing stockings under shorts and long sleeves under tank tops. It was kind of embedded in me that I was supposed to be covering up.
I'm not a vitiligo spokesperson just because I have vitiligo.
The worst thing I've done while sad is sit in defeat. That's very unhealthy. The best thing to do is dust yourself off and try again.
I don't perm my hair anymore, but I'm not a natural hair expert just because it grows out of my head like that.
I had to relearn how to love myself by forgetting the opinions of everyone else and focusing on my opinion of myself.
I feel like I pull inspiration from everyone, and I feel like I'm honored and grateful that people feel that they can pull inspiration from me, be inspired by me. But I definitely don't think I'm a role model. I'm not someone to be imitated.
