Lynelle Cantwell found out about an online poll at her school that was taking tallies for the “ugliest girls” in her class.
The senior at Holy Trinity High School in Newfoundland, Canada learned that she was one of the nominees. Of the 100-some anonymous votes, 12 of those people voted for her, bringing Lynelle in at #4 on the “ugliest girl” ranking.
The poll was posted on a Straw Poll website by some of the boys in her class and shared on Ask.fm, along with a poll of the “prettiest” girls.
“I saw that I was fourth and I was like, ‘wow.’” Cantwell told BuzzFeed Canada. “I felt hurt, like really really hurt. Not gonna lie, it tore me apart a little bit.”
But instead of letting it completely devastate her, she decided to take a stand. She wrote the following Facebook post that has been shared over 7,000 times:
“To the person that made the “ugliest girls in grade 12 at hth” ask.FM straw poll. I’m sorry that your life is so miserable that you have to try to bring others down. To the 12 people that voted for me to bring me to 4th place. I’m sorry for you too. I’m sorry that you don’t get to know me as a person. I know that i’m not the prettiest thing to look at. I know i have a double chin and i fit in XL clothes. I know i don’t have the perfect smile or the perfect face. But i’m sorry for you. Not myself.
I’m sorry that you get amusement out of making people feel like [crap]. I’m sorry that you’ll never get the chance to know the kind of person i am. I may not look okay on the outside.. But i’m funny, nice, kind, down to earth, not judgemental, accepting, helpful, and i’m super easy to talk to. That’s the same for every other girl on that list that you all put down. Just because we don’t look perfect on the outside does not mean we are ugly. If that’s your idea of ugly then i feel sorry for you. Like seriously? Get a life.”
And the response from her post has been an overwhelming influx of support and praise from strangers who are sticking up for the 17-year-old. Here are a couple of the comments left on her post:
Lynelle was shocked by the reaction to her post, but it’s given her a lot more confidence.
“After I saw all of the support I got after I posted that message on Facebook, my confidence was boosted more than before,” she told Today. “I’m overwhelmed with the response. I don’t even have words for it. I’m trying to show people to combat negativity with positivity, and I hope people are getting the message.”
I hope so too, Lynelle. Way to take a stand for yourself and all the other beautiful people out there who are being judged by superficial standards. Keep letting that light shine from the inside with your vibrant personality and love for people—because that’s the beauty that people will remember.
