Alba Parejo is a beautiful teenager from Barcelona, Spain, who’s showing the world what beauty and body-positivity really look like.
She was born with over 500 birthmarks on her skin as a result of congenital melanocytic nevus, a rare skin disease that occurs at birth. The condition causes large moles and dark patches of hairy skin to form all over her face and body.
For years, Alba was bullied by her peers who shamed her appearance and destroyed her self-confidence. They branded her a “monster,” “dalmatian” and an “alien,” because kids are just downright mean.
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“She is more precious than rubies…” Proverbs 3:15
The Bible tells us that we were ALL created in the image of God, and His love for us surpasses all understanding. It’s heartbreaking to see a young girl growing up to believe anything different than those truths.
By the age of five, Alba had undergone 30 operations to remove her birthmarks, but the pain was too much to handle.
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The Barcelona native is now 16 years old, and recently decided to embrace her birthmarks for their beauty. Alba posted pictures of her skin online, which garnered thousands of retweets and “likes.”
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“I had people contact me from all over the world, telling me how inspirational I was and it has helped to love who I am and my skin.”
The overwhelming amount of support inspired the teen to enter a beauty competition, where the winner would become the public face of an empowerment campaign.
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To her own surprise, Alba won the competition, and photos of her and her perfectly-imperfect skin are featured on billboards and in shopping malls around her city.