I was called ‘the ugly one’. A lot of girls go through an awful time growing up, thinking they’re too fat, too thin, have a nose that’s too big or legs too short.I did all that surrounded by four of the most gorgeous girls in the country. My thing was my white skin and red hair. I hated it and hated myself.

At 16, comments like this coupled with constant comparisons to her average haired band mates eroded away at her self-esteem, distorting her self-image.

Flash forward some many years and through an inspiring romance with fashion Nicola Roberts has reclaimed those words, “red hair and white skin” and finds she is much more comfortable in her own skin. In an interview recently she gave credit to her first fashion party for her long-awaited self-acceptance. It was at that party that it dawned on her that it is not only OK to be different but that she could be beautiful as well. Redefining those same words that haunted her for years, she declared,

‘The fact I have white skin and red hair is my thing. It’s my different thing and in the fashion world, that’s OK.’

Congratulations Nicola! You are beautiful in every way! Stand tall and show the world what you are made of—fierce freckles, tall-standing alabaster core and a fiery intellect cap!

Pssst…You are the beautiful one.