Born with a congenital birth defect, 14-year-old Breanna Mendoza has been bullied all her life because of the way she looks. She has Goldenhar Syndrome, which has caused a facial deformation. After years of bullying, the young girl considered taking her own life.
“I was in second or first grade and I thought about just going into the street and just going in front of a bus. See what happens when you bully [people] to such a point? I want to prove to people that this is wrong and it does hurt,” she said.
The bullying and intimidation on social media got so bad that the Turlock, California teen stopped going to her middle school.
She described her bullying in an interview with the Turlock Journal in the video below.
Her story caught the attention of professional photographer Heather Marshall, who told News 10 that she cried so much when she saw Breanna’s heartbreaking interview that she wanted to do something to make the teen feel better. She reached out to a few local beauty salons and arranged for her to have a day to get pampered and have a photo shoot and “feel fabulous”.
And Marshall’s gift really helped Breanna. “I definitely got a piece back that I lost inside,” Breanna said. “I definitely got that piece of happiness back.”
Since sharing her story, Breanna has received an outpouring of support from the community and social media. It has all come as a big, welcome surprise to her. She’s not only incredibly grateful, but pleased that her message to other bullied kids that they are not alone and that there is hope is being heard.
Please share Breanna’s uplifting story with your friends and family!
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