A woman who was born with a large birthmark on her back and torso has opened up about the cruel taunts she has received over the course of her lifetime from bullies. 25-year-old Yulianna Yussef, who hails from Warsaw in Poland, was born with a skin condition known as Congenital Melanocytic Naevus, or CMN.
CMN is a dermatological issue which stems from clusters of melanocytes - skin cells containing the brown pigment melanin, grouping together at birth, creating dark patches which resemble moles. The condition is benign, and some birthmarks can be small and minuscule. Yulianna's birthmark is much larger, covering most of her back, and stretches around to her stomach. Not only that, but she also has smaller spots dotted around her body.
In a recent interview with British tabloid newspaper The Mirror, Yulianna stated:
"I was quite a happy and carefree child. Before I was eight-years-old, I didn't pay much attention to my birthmarks. I remember myself looking at my skin in the mirror pretty much without any particular emotions. But after eight I started to notice all these eyes on me and fingers that were pointing at my legs, and words that people liked to say. In three words - I was bullied. It wasn't only comments, parents of other children didn't let me play with their kids because they thought that I was contagious."
"When I was 14 or 15 years old, I went with my friend to the beach, and of course people looked at me. Some old woman came to me with her advice on how to remove my 'warts.' Some waitresses in the cafe said unkind words to me. Lots of things like this happened ... My friend said to me "oh my God, Julie! Walking with you is just like walking with a monkey. I know it was just words, and in some ways it was a joke.
"I wasn't angry at her, but after this, I began to just sit at home all summer and walked for one or two hours in the evenings when it was dark."
"I would just ask 'why me? why do I deserve this?' and thought that nobody would ever love a girl with a black and hairy back. I was thinking that boys would never pick up me because they have the choice to pick up a 'normal' girl with perfect skin. I was a dalmatian, a giraffe, a cow, I was dirty, people thought that if they spoke to me my birthmarks would jump at them."
But when she grew older she decided enough was enough and it was time to start loving her body, "I was so tired of hiding and being afraid of people, of their reactions and actions. I was hating myself for the weakness and that I felt so much pity towards myself. I then understood that nobody would help me just myself, to bring me up with my confidence."
While bullying of this nature isn't new or unique, it's still such a terrible shame that people like Yulianna still have to put up with it. We're just glad she's feeling good about herself and on the road to a happier future.
