As much as society tries to push the message that everybody should just be themselves, there are still a handful of people out there who would give absolutely anything to be someone else. Some people achieve this simply by changing their wardrobe, others embark on a bit of a style change-up - maybe a new haircut or some different makeup techniques - and a few very committed people opt for surgery.
Of course, an individual's decision about what they look like should be theirs and theirs alone, so I don't want to judge anyone. That being said, however, some people's choices are a little more, um, unconventional than others.
Take Claudia Sierra, for example. The 42-year-old Texan woman spent many years trying to feel comfortable in her own skin, and now it seems that she might have finally found a look that feels right for her... But she borrowed it from none other than Melania Trump.
Sierra's decision to undergo surgery came in November 2016, when she went on a date with a man who believed she was lying about her age. He even asked to see her driving license because he was convinced that she was older.
"That was the straw that broke the camel’s back," Sierra said. "I was 41 years old and I decided that I have to change everything about me."
So, without wasting any time at all, she got in touch with a surgeon and requested breast reconstructions, a nose job, Botox, fillers, liposuction, a Brazilian buttock lift, an eyelid lift, and injectable treatments. The original price she was quoted for all of this was between $50,000 and $70,000 - but she couldn't afford it, so she had to turn it down.
A few months later, however, the surgeon offered her the operations at a lower cost; and, without a second thought, she snapped up the opportunity to change practically every recognizable feature she had.
The nine procedures took 10 hours in total to perform, and - despite the cost and the pain - Sierra says she's happy with the result.
Her decision to model herself after the First Lady was about more than just looks, too. "[Melania Trump] holds her head up high. She’s still going out there," she said. "She’s not hiding. I don’t feel like I need to hide."
However, she still hasn't managed to bag a date with her new look, and the criticism she's received hasn't all been positive, either. "I’m labeled as that sick girl, but I’m not. I’m a healthy, happy person," she claims. "I’m not mentally unstable. I knew what I wanted to do for me. Unfortunately, we don’t know how long we have here, so while I’m here, I wanted to be happy and I wanted to shine."
And this is what she looks like now:
Sierra also knows that surgery isn't the answer for everyone. While it has helped her to regain her confidence and overcome some personal issues that were troubling her, she accepts that altering a person's appearance won't change who they are on the inside.
In the end, though, if Sierra is happier with herself now, I think that's pretty much all that matters.
