A woman named Chelsea Campbell of Kent, Washington was born with a port wine stain birthmark which was caused by the abnormal development of the blood vessels in the skin on the left side of her face.
Her parents decided to take her for annual laser surgery to decrease the appearance of the purple mark using a technique similar to tattoo removal. However, Chelsea chose not to do the procedure anymore when she turned eight as she wanted to accept her unique appearance.
The 25-year-old told how her birthmark helped her best friend recognizing her on their first day of school.
She recalled: “I met my childhood best friend at school, and I remember her saying to me, “I remember you from preschool. I know who you are,”
“We’d been to the same preschool two years before and while I had no memory of her, she remembered me because of my birthmark. I really liked the feeling of standing out from the crowd and everyone knowing who I was.”
Her parents wanted to reduce the blemish on their daughter’s face and they took her for annual laser surgery until she turned eight.
”I had surgery every year until I was about eight,’ she said. ‘I was put to sleep under anesthetic and I had a procedure which is similar to a tattoo removal.”
”I suppose my parents thought that if the surgery made my birthmark less obvious then my life would be a lot easier,”
”But it just wasn’t something I wanted to continue to do. For one, I was a really active kid, and I hated having to stay still and rest after the surgery.”
”I’d get the odd comment here and there but the worst reaction was when adults would get the wrong end of the stick and think I was in danger. They thought I’d been beaten up and my birthmark was a bruise.”
”Sometimes, adults would ask me if I was okay or they would just glare at my father as if he’d done something wrong. It was hard to deal with – but it’s something you learn to ignore.”
”My mother was particularly affected, she couldn’t cope when people would stare at me and think there was something wrong with me,’
”She’s always worried about me. I think she still worries about me now.”
“I’d get comments from kids all the time. They’d say stuff like, “You look like you’ve been hit with a frying pan,” or “Who have you been in a fight with?”
“Those kinds of comments didn’t bother me too much. I’d just laugh it off and say something like, “You should’ve seen the other guy.”
“I’ve had my birthmark all my life, there’s no point in covering it up, it’s part of me,’ she said. ‘I’ve covered it up on the odd occasion – say for a job interview or something – but it just makes me feel uncomfortable.”
”I’m on Tinder at the moment, and I’ve explained in my bio what my birthmark is,’ she said. ‘I think it just helps if you’re upfront about it. To be honest, I’ve not had one bad experience.”
”I think in recent years people have become a lot less ignorant and more accepting. The only comments I get from people I match with about my birthmark are positive ones.”
”They’ll say things like, “I love how unique you are”, and, “You’re perfect the way you are.” As much as it’s nice, it’s a bit cringe. I’ve always struggled to take compliments.”
”Two years ago, I changed my Instagram account name to the “birthmark queen”, as I wanted to start posting about my birthmark, because I love it – it’s part of me and who I am today.”
”There are so many Instagram influencers out there who edit their pictures to the point where they’re not recognizable any more.”
”But I want to show other people that if they want to be happy, they need to love their flaws and accept themselves. I know it sounds like a cliché, but it’s what’s on the inside that counts.”
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