Lea Charles, Germany

I was born with a Port Wine stain, and received laser treatments at a young age with little success. I wasn’t bothered by my birthmark throughout most of my childhood. However, puberty was rough for me.

The need to look like everyone else and fit in was extreme. I started using make up to cover up my birthmark every single day, so no one would see me without it anymore for years. I constantly felt like something was missing. Just recently I realized I just wanted to be myself, with my birthmark and all. I haven’t covered my birthmark for over 2 years now. I realized it a much more beautiful to be yourself than to try to hide who you are. I wish back when I was younger I’d know about this great resource and opportunity to connect with people that share birthmark stories, and I hope I can give this opportunity to someone else now.