Being noticeably different at a young age is one of the most difficult things in the world, especially if you're desperate to fit in with the rest of your peers.
Having a particular feature that stands out whether it's physical or otherwise, usually marks you as an outsider, and society doesn't tend to treat outsiders very well. No one will willingly choose to alienate people, but if we have something that society deems an imperfection, we may end up doing just that.
Being born with an unusual feature will usually do one of two things; you may become insecure, and want to change whatever it is that makes you stand out, or on the flip side, you could come to embrace your ''imperfection'' so much that you will go out of your way to draw attention to it.
Well, that's exactly what one woman by the name of Mariana Mendes has been doing since she entered the modelling world - and she's now encouraging other young women to embrace the skin they're in.
Take a look at the gorgeous model in action:Mendes was born in Juiz de Fora, Brazil, but she turned out a little different to your average baby. The 26-year-old had a prominent black birthmark on her face, and her parents were desperate to get rid of it before she began school so she could start on a ''clean slate''.
The kind of birthmark that Mariana has is called a congenital melanocytic nevus (a birthmark that covers at least two per cent of your body). People develop nevi if there's a greater amount of pigment in a particular section of their skin than in other areas.
From the age of five, Mariana underwent three laser treatments in order to reduce the size of her nevus.
The three treatments had very little impact on the birthmark - but that never bothered Mariana. In fact, at the age of six, she told her parents that she did want to have any more laser treatment sessions.
The bold young woman is hoping to be a source of inspiration for others as far as embracing your differences is concerned.