Having your parents around your childhood gives you a feeling of safety.<\/p>\n
If you are forced to grow up without parental presence or knowing your parents abandoned you, there is a chance you might grow up feeling some sort of resentment towards your parents.<\/p>\n
Xueli Abbing is a 16-year-old born in China who was abandoned at birth by her parents. She was left at the door of an orphanage and the identity of her parents was not known in the slightest.<\/p>\n
She was named by the staff at the orphanage, the \u2018Xue\u2019 in her name means snow while \u2018Li\u2019 means beautiful. She was named this because she was born with albinism.<\/p>\n
Albinism is a genetic condition that leads to reduced pigment melanin in a person and causes their skin, hair, and eyes to be pale.<\/p>\n
She was adopted by a family in the Netherlands who provided her with a loving home. When she was 11 years old, she was asked by a designer in Hong Kong to model for him for a shoot where he wanted to portray various kinds of beauty.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe called the campaign \u2018perfect imperfections\u2019 and asked if I wanted to join her fashion show in Hong Kong,\u201d Abbing said in an interview to the BBC. \u201cThat was an amazing experience,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
People with albinism are discriminated against in various parts of the world. In some instances, they are even \u2018hunted\u2019 because of the false belief that their bones have medicinal properties. \u201cI\u2019m lucky I was only abandoned,\u201d Abbing has said.<\/p>\n
At times even models with albinism can be used as props to depict angels or ghosts, about which, Abbing says, \u201cIt makes me sad.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Abbing was lucky enough to work with a photographer from London who treated her like any model should be treated. The result was a stunning photoshoot. One of the images from it was even sold to Vogue Italia for its June 2019 issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the time, I didn\u2019t know what an important magazine it was and it took me a while to realize why people got so excited about it,\u201d recalls.<\/p>\n
Being a model comes with its own set of hurdles for Abbing. She has 8 to 10% vision and hence looking directly at camera flashes is painful for her. But she still wants to represent people like her who are not conventionally beautiful and that keeps her going.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are still models who are like eight foot two and skinny but now people with disabilities or differences are featured more in the media and this is great \u2013 but it should be normal,\u201d she said in the interview.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe because I cannot see everything properly I focus more on people\u2019s voices and what they have to say,\u201d she said. \u201cSo their inner beauty is more important to me,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
She hopes in making a difference in the world and educating people about her condition. \u201cI want to use modeling to talk about albinism and say it\u2019s a genetic disorder, it\u2019s not a curse,\u201d she says. \u201cThe way to talk about it is to say \u2018a person with albinism\u2019 because being \u2018an albino\u2019 sounds as if it defines who you are.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not going to accept that children are being murdered because of their albinism. I want to change the world,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
We wish Xueli Abbing the very best of luck in her journey. We are sure she will inspire and educate thousands of people around the world.<\/p>\n
Share her story with your friends and family to help inspire them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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