LIZZIE VELÁSQUEZ: HISTORY, ILLNESS AND MESSAGE - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

Lizzie Velasquez is an American writer, motivational speaker and youtuber known internationally for her campaign against bullying. She was born with a rare congenital disease that, among other things, prevents her from gaining body mass. Because of this, her physical appearance is very different and that is why she was bullied as a child.

Lizzie Velasquez's determination to take on her fight against bullying began when she was 17 years old, when surfing the internet she discovered a video on a famous website describing her as the ugliest woman in the world. By now, it had attracted 4 million views and thousands of negative comments.

Larry D. Moore, from Wikimedia Commons

In his own words, that was the worst nightmare he ever experienced as a teenager. She was very devastated, not only by the teasing, but also by having to read comments that even suggested that she should not exist. After a period of despondency, Lizzie decided to make that negative experience a positive turning point in her life.

So Lizzie Velásquez graduated from communication studies, trained as a motivational speaker, and devoted herself to publishing books that explored the topic of true beauty. With a solid Christian background, Lizzie was then in charge of developing anti-bullying campaigns in face-to-face talks, social networks and other electronic media.

Lizzie Velázquez story

Early years

Lizzie Velásquez was born Elizabeth Ann Velásquez in Austin, Texas, on March 13, 1989. Her parents are Rita Velásquez and Guadalupe Velásquez and she has two other younger siblings named Chris and Marina. Elizabeth was born without adipose tissue, she cannot accumulate body fat, and her weight remains around 26 kilograms.

According to her mother, her birth weight was approximately 1 kg. Doctors found that the amount of amniotic fluid protecting her in the uterus was minimal. They wondered that he could have been born, and doubted that he was able to walk, speak, or lead a normal life.

In addition, Mrs. Rita comments that she had to buy doll clothes at the toy store because the baby clothes were too big. For their part, the doctors were unable to make a diagnosis, so they prepared Elizabeth's parents for the worst.

Yet despite the bleak prognosis, Lizzie Velasquez's brain, bones, and internal organs developed normally. Unfortunately, she always stayed very small, even though she ate all day.

Career

After the unpleasant event of the video, Lizzie Velásquez was not overcome by abandonment and self-pity, and took the diametrically opposite path. As a first action, she organized talks for the first year high school students in which she explained the causes of their physical condition.

Later, and due to the receptivity that the first cycle of talks had, he decided to face the issue of bullying and harassment due to physical appearance, preparing a series of talks for the rest of the grades of his institute.

Upon graduation from Texas State University, she maintained her intense anti-bullying activity, launching her into a busy stage in global media. It also gave rise to several books; Be beautiful (Be Beautiful) and Be yourself (Be You).

Despite his condition, Velásquez maintains an energetic and positive attitude. Both on her website and on her Twitter and Facebook accounts, she keeps posting photos of herself with friends and family, and thanking her loved ones for their support.

To date, Lizzie Velásquez has been a motivational speaker in more than 200 workshops. On the other hand, her story has transcended national and international media. Among others, the programs The Today Show and Australia's Sunday Night can be mentioned.

Disease

The congenital disease with which Lizzie Velásquez was born is still unknown. However, her team of doctors believe it is a form of neonatal progeroid syndrome (NPS), which causes accelerated aging, degeneration of skin tissue, and loss of fat from the face and body.

People with NPS often have prematurely aged, triangular faces with a pointed nose. In Lizzie's case, she additionally has total loss of vision in one of her eyes. At the age of 4, the right eye began to cloud over and turn blue. Later, the doctors discovered that she had gone blind in that eye.

This strange condition still baffles doctors and is believed to have affected only two other people worldwide. It is also known that it is not hereditary, since Lizzie's other siblings do not suffer from it.

On the other hand, she is part of a genetic study led by the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. These professionals claim that they cannot yet predict what will happen to Lizzie in the future. Therefore, today, they keep her under strict medical supervision.

Message from his books and talks

You define who you are

This message from Lizzie is basically about reminding people that they know themselves best. Consequently, they should not allow other people to define them. Nor should they allow other people to tell them that they are not good enough or that they will never achieve anything in life.

Use negativity as your motivation

Lizzie Velásquez argues that fighting fire with fire is always a waste of time. Instead of concentrating on defending yourself against those who humiliate and offend you, you should use those offenses to your advantage. Silently, these harsh words should be used as motivation to achieve goals and prove them wrong.

Make the most of your circumstances

Velásquez has a rare health condition, but instead of giving up on life, he makes the best of the circumstances in which he finds himself. It focuses on the things you still have and can do, rather than the things you don't have and can't do.

In Velásquez's experience, there are people in the world who have a tendency to focus on the shortcomings in their lives. This explains why they tend to compare themselves to others. Internally they wish they could be someone other than themselves.

In his opinion, these people must begin to recognize their own strengths and use them to impact lives. Lizzie Velásquez assures that all human beings are capable of making a dent in the universe, but this can only be achieved if they put their hearts and minds to work for the cause in which they believe.

Surround yourself with good company

In her lectures, Lizzie states that it is crucial to surround yourself with positive people who see the potential in other people around you, who do not pay attention to flaws and imperfections, and who can help bring out the best in each of them.

It also affirms that all human beings need other people who can guide and support them through good times and bad. They should also be able to lend their shoulders and ears for comfort. Most importantly, these should be the pillars of strength when the going gets tough.

References

1. Van der Hart, L. (2014, November). Lizzie Velasquez. Taken from premierchristianity.com.
2. Family tree legends. (s / f). Velasquez, Elizabeth Ann. Taken from web.archive.org.
3. Walker, K. (2013, December 31). World's Ugliest Woman Proves That Jesus Makes All Things Beautiful. Taken from charismanews.com.
4. Hartenstein, M. (2010, June 28). Lizzie Velasquez, 21-year-old with undiagnosed genetic disorder, must eat 60 times a day to survive. Taken from nydailynews.com.
5. Moisse, K. (2012, September 14). Texas Woman Can't Gain Weight, Bullied Over Looks. Taken from abcnews.go.com.
6. Oliver, A. (2012, September 13). 'People should stop staring and start learning': World's 'ugliest woman' gives courageous interview. Taken from dailymail.co.uk.
7. Peter Tan, J. (2016, November 29). 4 Beautiful Lessons From Lizzie Velasquez. Taken from leaderonomics.com.