This Teen Was Brutally Bullied For Having Over 500 Birthmarks, But Look At Her Now
438Kviews
Alba Parejo was born with over 500 birthmarks on her body and was brutally bullied as a child. Now, at 16 years old, Alba has found success and happiness by learning to love her skin condition, and the beautiful girl is encouraging others to do the same.
The Barcelona native suffers from a rare form of the skin disease called melanocytic nevus, which caused large moles and dark patches of skin to form all over her body and face. She had surgery to correct several areas as an infant, which has left her with major scarring. Though her peers called her a ‘monster’ and relentlessly tortured her, she bravely decided to pursue a modeling career with her unconventional beauty.
Alba’s beautiful photos have been featured on the cover of a local magazine, and she has done a number of professional photoshoots. She’s also campaigning for self-love, and spreading awareness of others living with skin disease. “I feel much more body positive and am trying to make my disease more well known in order to help other people,” the photo model wrote on a personal page.
This is Alba Parejo, a 16-year-old who was born with large birthmarks all over her body
Image credits: Sonia and Andrés Burgos
She suffers from congenital melanocytic nevus, a rare disease that caused her to have over 500 of these marks
Image credits: Àngel Carbonell
Children with CMN are born with large, dark patches of skin that form ‘satellite’ moles across their bodies as Alba pictured here
Image credits: Alba Parejo
She underwent 30 surgeries to correct parts of her skin as an infant, and now has large areas of scarring
Image credits: Alba Parejo
As a child, Alba was horribly bullied, with her peers calling her a ‘monster’ and ‘dalmation’
Image credits: Alba Parejo
After years of struggling, she bravely decided to share her story and bare her skin to the world
Image credits: Alba Parejo
People responded very positively and she gained the courage to enter a modeling competition to become the public face for an empowerment campaign
Image credits: Alba Parejo
Now Alba is a model featured on billboards, buses and in newspapers
Image credits: Sonia and Andrés Burgos
“I feel much more body positive and am trying to make my disease more well known… to help other people” She wrote online
Image credits: Àngel Carbonell
She uses hashtags like #bareyourbirthmark on Instagram, encouraging others to embrace their skin
Image credits: Àngel Carbonell
Alba just keeps rising above her difficulties and empowering others, and we hope she never stops
Image credits: Alba Parejo
438Kviews
Share on Facebook
If I'm being honest here the scarring/birthmark on her legs kinda shocked me at first, but I do love her smile. The spots on the rest of her are honestly cute I think, it's kinda like a signature. Anyone else remember the lady with the random white strip of hair on her head? It's things like these that make us stand out! I'd love to have a mark like this! Definitely something to be proud of, I think they're beautiful. And dang, if anyone called me a Dalmatian, I'd say "thank you". I love those dawgs.
I think her legs are the result of a surgery :/ (the major indent near the thighs - that's at least what it looks like). But I still think she looks lovely - nobody is perfect anyway. It's our imperfections that make us beautiful :)
Maybe you could have a wish for each spot if you were nice to her :) :-P sadly some people don't get this. I think the same, except of the brider areas, its very cute!
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
The surgery made things a whole lot worse. I hope the parents sued. There is NO excuse for that.
you cannot be that stupid.
That's a little harsh, they might have just been trying to help her feel like she belongs when she grows up. I agree, not great, but it'd be an innocent mistake.
If it's like that after the surgery, imagine how it was before it...
The smile makes all the difference. And it can't be bullied either.
Her peers were idiots for bullying her. It is not her fault she was born like that. Anyway, she is a beautiful girl and she is unique! Oh, wait... I forgot most modern young people follow stereotypes and bully everyone who is a bit different in their appearance or understandings. It had happened to me only because unlike other people I love to write for nature and I like snakes, bugs, rats and other "nasty" animals.
Not just modern young people :/ it's been going on as long as there has been people
And will never stop.
Lmao since when is this a "modern" or "young person" thing. Racism, homophobia, etc are all examples of bullying people who are different and they have been around forever.
Do you realize that this, right here: " I forgot most modern young people follow stereotypes and bully everyone who is a bit different" is a great example of stereotype? You just decided that a HUGE group of people have the same characteristics and you based in on your singular experience.
Additionally, while we have a long, long way to go, we are the most accepting generation since the beginning of civilization. That's my positive note. My negative note is that it's actually more popular to be different now. Which is great, but then you've got every kid who doesn't think he fits in insisting he's a brony, dragon, or azalea. It kind of takes the wind out of the LGBT, differently-abled and other legitimate groups that truly need acceptance and understanding.
I completely disagree about "modern young people". I'm 29, and I can say that my peers were absolutely horrible, whereas people my little brother's age -- the 20 and under -- are, from what I've noticed, incredibly accepting, considerate, and interested. By far the most of any generation I've seen. They will collectively seek out bullyish behavior and confront it. Unlike people my age and older whom, non-coincidentally, elected a Supreme Bully to POTUS. The only thing that does give me hope is young people.
The diff is that prior generations DID NOT have social media to spread their ugliness and getting other trolls to join in like a pack of starving dogs. The bullying was more local, i.e. in school or in the public, but that's all it went as far as. Now they freakin' invade your internet life by posting their garbage all over the place. I was bullied for being different too (I was darker than other asians) but kids can be shit heads no matter the generation
If I'm being honest here the scarring/birthmark on her legs kinda shocked me at first, but I do love her smile. The spots on the rest of her are honestly cute I think, it's kinda like a signature. Anyone else remember the lady with the random white strip of hair on her head? It's things like these that make us stand out! I'd love to have a mark like this! Definitely something to be proud of, I think they're beautiful. And dang, if anyone called me a Dalmatian, I'd say "thank you". I love those dawgs.
I think her legs are the result of a surgery :/ (the major indent near the thighs - that's at least what it looks like). But I still think she looks lovely - nobody is perfect anyway. It's our imperfections that make us beautiful :)
Maybe you could have a wish for each spot if you were nice to her :) :-P sadly some people don't get this. I think the same, except of the brider areas, its very cute!
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
The surgery made things a whole lot worse. I hope the parents sued. There is NO excuse for that.
you cannot be that stupid.
That's a little harsh, they might have just been trying to help her feel like she belongs when she grows up. I agree, not great, but it'd be an innocent mistake.
If it's like that after the surgery, imagine how it was before it...
The smile makes all the difference. And it can't be bullied either.
Her peers were idiots for bullying her. It is not her fault she was born like that. Anyway, she is a beautiful girl and she is unique! Oh, wait... I forgot most modern young people follow stereotypes and bully everyone who is a bit different in their appearance or understandings. It had happened to me only because unlike other people I love to write for nature and I like snakes, bugs, rats and other "nasty" animals.
Not just modern young people :/ it's been going on as long as there has been people
And will never stop.
Lmao since when is this a "modern" or "young person" thing. Racism, homophobia, etc are all examples of bullying people who are different and they have been around forever.
Do you realize that this, right here: " I forgot most modern young people follow stereotypes and bully everyone who is a bit different" is a great example of stereotype? You just decided that a HUGE group of people have the same characteristics and you based in on your singular experience.
Additionally, while we have a long, long way to go, we are the most accepting generation since the beginning of civilization. That's my positive note. My negative note is that it's actually more popular to be different now. Which is great, but then you've got every kid who doesn't think he fits in insisting he's a brony, dragon, or azalea. It kind of takes the wind out of the LGBT, differently-abled and other legitimate groups that truly need acceptance and understanding.
I completely disagree about "modern young people". I'm 29, and I can say that my peers were absolutely horrible, whereas people my little brother's age -- the 20 and under -- are, from what I've noticed, incredibly accepting, considerate, and interested. By far the most of any generation I've seen. They will collectively seek out bullyish behavior and confront it. Unlike people my age and older whom, non-coincidentally, elected a Supreme Bully to POTUS. The only thing that does give me hope is young people.
The diff is that prior generations DID NOT have social media to spread their ugliness and getting other trolls to join in like a pack of starving dogs. The bullying was more local, i.e. in school or in the public, but that's all it went as far as. Now they freakin' invade your internet life by posting their garbage all over the place. I was bullied for being different too (I was darker than other asians) but kids can be shit heads no matter the generation