'World's Ugliest Woman' Provides Amazing Example of Real Beauty

It's amazing really how cruel people can be, and the anonymity of the Internet just gives cowards another avenue with a screen to hide behind and spew all sorts of hate. But as 22-year-old Lizzie Velasquez beautifully shows, we don't have to let them win.

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In high school, Velasquez, who suffers from an undiagnosed condition that doesn't allow her body to store fat or build muscle, was labeled "The World's Ugliest Woman" on YouTube. To date, the video that gave her the title has been viewed by more than 4 million people, and the vile comments would cripple most people -- but not Lizzie. Instead of letting words like those and the other hateful ones she has heard her entire life keep her down, she has instead used them to fuel her determination.

In a recently released video, she says that while every day is a struggle and she initially wanted to make cruel people feel as low as she did, she decided to fight back in a different way -- by accomplishing her own dreams. Today she works as a motivational speaker and author, with her second book titled, "Be Beautiful, Be You" due out in October. In a couple of months she graduates from college. In the video, she concludes: "In the battle between the World's Ugliest Woman video vs. me ... I think I won.

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I think so, indeed; and I can't imagine a better example of true beauty. Watch her amazing story here, and I promise you'll think twice the next time you let a bad hair day or a couple of pimples get you down.

Do you find Lizzie Velasquez's story inspirational?

Image via YouTube

Written by Julie Ryan Evans for CafeMom's blog, The Stir.

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