At first, Velasquez worried no one would be able to relate to her, but it quickly became clear to her onstage that her story resonated with the other teens. Velasquez went on to deliver a TED talk , where nearly 11 million viewers tuned in to hear her story. There's been no looking back for this anti-bullying warrior.
She hopes that through her efforts, girls everywhere will not feel so alone, which is why she's teamed up with Secret this October in honor of National Bully Prevention Month.
All month long, the deodorant brand has been inviting women and girls to share an anti-bullying pledge on social media using the hashtag StandUpWithSecret. IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Share this —. I mean, when you're first time parents and you're told your daughter is two pounds ten ounces and you show them a Polaroid of me because they think that they're gonna be scared of their own child and the first thing they say is, Bring her to us right now because she's our daughter no matter what size is.
And to have that foundation from, literally, day one I think has shaped a lot of who I am now. It wasn't until I was 17 and I found the video on Youtube calling me the world's ugliest woman with my photo and knew that over four million people had seen it. There were thousands of comments on this video and I just sat there and scrolled through every single one.
I read every single one because I was so desperate to find one person that was standing up for me. And I never found it. I had my doors slightly opened and when I looked out my mom was directly in my vision and she was just sitting there watching TV.
And I knew if that video crushed me as much as it did, I couldn't imagine what it would do to her. I think that's where the light was turned on for me that I, I'm not gonna sit here and let their words become the definition of who I am. About a year or so after I found the video, I was asked to do my first speech for my assistant principal. I never wanted to be in front of people. She asked me to speak and tell students my story. Before I went up they warned me if they get loud or rowdy there's people here that'll quiet them down.
Halfway through, when I realized I should look up, everyone was looking at me and they were so quiet. I could see tears in people's eyes. There was a moment, there was a connection. I felt like that whole I'm different shield was just gone. And we were just one group of people. We're not victims in any sense unless we allow ourselves to be. I don't have vision in both eyes but I have vision in one eye. I might wear kids shoes but at least I don't have to pay full price for adult shoes. There's always the bright side.
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