Krystie Looi, Malaysia, Selangor

I have had a hemangioma since I was 10 days old. I grew up receiving a lot of stares and tons of creative questions almost every day. Those questions were:

1. what is it?
2. Is it Contagious?
3. Is it only on the face, how about the body?
4. I guess it’s a karma?

To handle those stares and comments, I handled it with grace. Despite this ignorance, it helps me to discover and venture myself into performing Arts, a platform that helped me gain my confidence. Although there were times I have tried to cover it with foundation and concealer. The amount of concealer needed still makes the birthmark visible. So, I decided to carry it with confidence. It does not prevent me from searching for jobs, making new friends, or from performing on stage in the theatre and showing people who I really am.