0:06 - 0:09

I'm really, really, really

excited to be here.

0:09 - 0:11
I kind of want to tell you
0:11 - 0:14
a little bit more of the I don't want to say basics 0:14 - 0:17
because we really don't know
anything about my syndrome.
0:17 - 0:20
I was born with this very rare syndrome,
0:20 - 0:24
that only two other people in the world
including myself, that we know of, have.
0:24 - 0:28
Basically what this syndrome causes,
is that I cannot gain weight.
0:28 - 0:31
Yes, it does sound as good as it is.
0:31 - 0:34
(Laughter)
0:34 - 0:37
I could eat absolutely
whatever I want, whenever I want
0:37 - 0:40
and I won't really gain any weight.
0:40 - 0:43
I'm going to be 25 in March,
0:43 - 0:47
and I've never weighed over
about 64 pounds in my entire life.
0:47 - 0:50
When I was in college, I hid 0:50 - 0:53
well, I didn't 'hide' it,
everyone knew it was there 0:53 - 0:58
but it was a giant tub
of Twinkies, donuts, chips, Skittles,
0:58 - 1:01
and my roommate would say,
"I could hear you at 12:30 am,
1:01 - 1:04
reaching under your bed to get food."

 1:04 - 1:08
But I'm like, "You know what?
It's alright, I can do these things!"
1:08 - 1:11
Because there are benefits
to this syndrome.
1:11 - 1:14
There are benefits
to not being able to gain weight.
1:14 - 1:17
There are benefits
to being visually impaired.
1:17 - 1:20
There are benefits
to being kind of really small.
1:21 - 1:23
A lot of people think,
1:23 - 1:26
"Lizzie, how in the world
are you saying there are benefits
1:26 - 1:28
when you can only see
out of one eye?"
1:28 - 1:31
Well, let me tell you
what the benefits are
1:31 - 1:34
because they are great.
1:34 - 1:40
I wear contacts--conTACT.
Half-off conTACTS.
1:40 - 1:42
(Laughter)
1:42 - 1:47
When I wear my reading glasses:
half-off prescription.
1:47 - 1:52
If somebody is annoying me,
being rude:
1:52 - 1:53
Stand on my right side.
1:53 - 1:55
(Laughter)
1:55 - 1:59
It's like you're not even there.
I don't even know you're standing there.
1:59 - 2:02
Right now, if I stand like this,
I have no clue

 2:02 - 2:04
that there's this whole side of the room.
2:06 - 2:12
Also, being small,
I am very willing to volunteer myself
2:12 - 2:19
to go to Weight Watchers
or to some gym, and say,
2:19 - 2:23
"Hi, I'm Lizzie.
I will be your poster child.
2:25 - 2:29
Put my face on whatever
you need, and I will say,
2:29 - 2:32
'Hi! I used this program.
Look how well it worked.'"
2:32 - 2:35
(Laughter)
2:35 - 2:39
Even though there are amazing things
that have come from this syndrome,
2:39 - 2:44
there are also things that have been
very, very difficult, as you can imagine.
2:44 - 2:50
Growing up, I was raised 150% normally.
2:50 - 2:53
I was my parents' first child.
2:53 - 2:56
And when I was born,
the doctors told my mom,
2:56 - 3:00
"Your daughter has no
amniotic fluid around her.
3:00 - 3:02
At all."
3:02 - 3:06
So when I was born, it was a miracle
that I came out screaming.
3:06 - 3:08
The doctors told my parents,
3:08 - 3:11
"We just want to warn you:
Expect your daughter to never be able
3:11 - 3:17
to talk, walk, crawl, think,
or do anything by herself."
3:17 - 3:23

Now, as first-time parents,

you would think that my parents would say,
3:23 - 3:29
"Oh no. Why?
Why are we getting our first child
3:29 - 3:32
with all these unknown problems?"
3:32 - 3:34
But that's not what they did.
3:34 - 3:36
The first thing they told the doctor was,
3:36 - 3:39
"We want to see her,
and we are going to take her home
3:39 - 3:43
and love her, and raise her
to the best of our abilities."
3:43 - 3:46
And that's what they did.
3:46 - 3:50
I credit pretty much everything
that I've done in my life to my parents.
3:50 - 3:53
My dad is here with me today,
and my mom is at home watching.
3:53 - 3:56
Hi mom!
(Laughter)
3:56 - 3:59
She's recovering from surgery.
3:59 - 4:01
She has been the glue
that's held our family together,
4:01 - 4:06
and she's given me the strength
to see that she's going through so much,
4:06 - 4:10
but she has this fighting spirit
that she's instilled in me,
4:10 - 4:16
so that I have proudly been able
to stand in front of people and say,
4:16 - 4:20
"You know what?
I've had a really difficult life.
4:20 - 4:22
But that's okay."
4:22 - 4:26

That's okay. Things have been scary,

things have been tough.
4:26 - 4:27
One of the biggest things
4:27 - 4:29
that I had to deal with growing up
4:29 - 4:31
was something I'm pretty sure
4:31 - 4:34
every single one of us in this room
has dealt with before.
4:34 - 4:36
Can you guess what that is?
4:36 - 4:38
It starts with a 'B'.
Can you guys guess it?
4:38 - 4:40
Audience: Boys!
Lizzie: Boys?
4:40 - 4:42
(Laughter)
4:42 - 4:43
Bullying!
4:43 - 4:46
(Laughter)
4:46 - 4:48
I know what you all are thinking.
4:48 - 4:50
(Laughter)
4:50 - 4:53
Why can't I sit here with them?
(Laughter)
4:53 - 4:57
I had to deal with bullying a lot,
but as I said, I was raised very normally,
4:57 - 4:59
so when I started kindergarten,
4:59 - 5:02
I had absolutely no idea
that I looked different.
5:02 - 5:03
No clue.
5:03 - 5:06
I couldn't see that I looked
different from other kids.
5:06 - 5:10
I think of it as a big slap
of reality for a five year-old,
5:10 - 5:14

because I went in to school the first day,

decked-out in Pocahontas gear.
5:14 - 5:16
I was ready!
5:16 - 5:17
(Laughter)
5:17 - 5:19
I went in with my backpack
5:19 - 5:22
that looked like a turtle shell
because it was bigger than me,
5:22 - 5:25
and I walked up
to a little girl and smiled at her,
5:25 - 5:28
and she looked up at me
like I was a monster,
5:28 - 5:31
like I was the scariest thing
she had ever seen in her life.
5:31 - 5:32
My first reaction was,
5:32 - 5:34
"She is really rude.
5:34 - 5:35
(Laughter)
5:35 - 5:38
I am a fun kid,
and she's the one missing out.
5:38 - 5:41
So I'll just go over here
and play with blocks. Or boys."
5:41 - 5:44
(Laughter)
5:44 - 5:46
(Lizzie laughs)
5:46 - 5:49
I thought the day would get better,
and unfortunately, it didn't.
5:49 - 5:53
The day got worse and worse.
A lot of people just wanted to have
5:53 - 5:57
absolutely nothing to do with me,
and I couldn't understand why.
5:57 - 6:01
Why? What did I do?
I didn't do anything to them!
6:01 - 6:03

In my mind I was still a really cool kid.

6:03 - 6:05
I had to go home and ask my parents,
6:05 - 6:06
"What's wrong with me?
6:06 - 6:08
What did I do? Why don't they like me?"
6:08 - 6:10
They sat me down and said,
6:10 - 6:12
"Lizzie, the only thing
different about you
6:12 - 6:14
is that you're smaller
than the other kids.
6:14 - 6:18
You have this syndrome,
but it's not going to define who you are."
6:18 - 6:22
They said,
"Go to school, pick your head up, smile,
6:22 - 6:24
continue to be yourself,
and people will see
6:24 - 6:26
that you're just like them."
6:26 - 6:28
And so that's what I did.
6:28 - 6:32
I want you to think, and ask yourself
this in your head, right now:
6:32 - 6:34
What defines you?
6:34 - 6:36
Who are you?
6:36 - 6:39
Is it where you come from?
Is it your background? Is it your friends?
6:39 - 6:40
What is it?
6:40 - 6:43
What defines who you are as a person?
6:43 - 6:48
It's taken me a very long time
to figure out what defines me.
6:48 - 6:50
For so long I thought what defined me
6:50 - 6:54

was my outer appearance.

I thought that my little tiny legs,
6:54 - 6:58
and my little arms,
and my little face were ugly.
6:58 - 7:00
I thought I was disgusting.
7:00 - 7:03
I hated when I'd wake up in the morning
when I was going to middle school,
7:03 - 7:06
and would be looking in the mirror
getting ready, and thinking,
7:06 - 7:09
"Can I just scrub this syndrome off?
7:09 - 7:14
It would make my life so much easier
if I could just scrub it off.
7:14 - 7:17
I could look like other kids;
I wouldn't have to buy clothes
7:17 - 7:21
that had Dora the Explorer on them.
I wouldn't have to buy stuff
7:21 - 7:25
that was 'Bedazzled', when I was trying
to be like the cool kids."
7:25 - 7:29
I would wish, and pray, and hope,
and do whatever I could
7:29 - 7:32
so I would wake up
in the morning and be different,
7:32 - 7:34
and I wouldn't have to deal
with these struggles.
7:34 - 7:36
It's what I wanted every single day,
7:36 - 7:39
and every single day I was disappointed.
7:39 - 7:44
I have an amazing
support system around me,
7:44 - 7:50
who never pity me, who are there
to pick me up if I'm sad,
7:50 - 7:53
who are there to laugh with me
during the good times,

 7:53 - 7:58
and they taught me that,
even though I have this syndrome,
7:58 - 8:03
even though things are hard,
I can't let that define me.
8:03 - 8:09
My life was put into my hands,
just like your lives are put into yours.
8:09 - 8:12
You are the person
in the front seat of your car.
8:12 - 8:14
You are the one who decides
8:14 - 8:18
whether your car goes down
a bad path, or a good path.
8:18 - 8:22
You are the one
who decides what defines you.
8:22 - 8:26
Now let me tell you:
it could be really hard to figure out
8:26 - 8:28
what defines you,
because there were times
8:28 - 8:31
when I'd get so annoyed
and frustrated, and say:
8:31 - 8:33
"I don't care what defines me!"
8:33 - 8:36
When I was in high school I found a video,
8:36 - 8:38
unfortunately, that somebody posted of me,
8:38 - 8:40
labeling me the world's ugliest woman.
8:40 - 8:44
There were over four million views
to this video; eight seconds long,
8:44 - 8:47
no sound, thousands
of comments; people saying,
8:47 - 8:52
"Lizzie, please - please just do the world a favor,
8:52 - 8:55
put a gun to your head,
and kill yourself."

 8:57 - 9:02
Think about that,
if people told you that,
9:02 - 9:05
if strangers told you this.
9:05 - 9:08
I cried my eyes out of course,
and I was ready to fight back
9:08 - 9:10
and something
kind of clicked in my head,
9:10 - 9:14
and I thought,
"I'm just going to leave it alone."
9:14 - 9:19
I started realizing
that my life is in my hands.
9:19 - 9:22
I could either choose
to make this really good,
9:22 - 9:25
or I could choose
to make this really bad.
9:25 - 9:27
I could be grateful,
and open my eyes
9:27 - 9:30
and realize the things that I do have,
9:30 - 9:34
and make those the things that define me.
9:34 - 9:37
I can't see out of one eye,
but I can see out of the other.
9:37 - 9:41
I might get sick a lot,
but I have really nice hair.
9:41 - 9:42
(Laughter)
9:42 - 9:44
(Audience) You do, you do!
9:44 - 9:45
Thanks.
9:45 - 9:47
You guys are like
the best little section right here.
9:47 - 9:50
(Laughter)
9:50 - 9:52

(Lizzie laughs)
You made me lose my train of thought!
9:52 - 9:54
(Laughter)
9:54 - 9:56
Okay... where was I?
9:56 - 9:57
Audience: Your hair!
9:57 - 10:01
Hair! Hair. Ok, ok, thank you.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
10:01 - 10:04
So I could either choose
to be happy or I could choose
10:04 - 10:07
to be upset with what I have
and still kind of complain about it,
10:07 - 10:10
but then I started realizing:
10:10 - 10:13
Am I going to let the people
who called me a monster define me?
10:13 - 10:18
Am I going to let the people who said,
"Kill it with fire!" define me?
10:18 - 10:23
No; I'm going to let my goals,
and my success, and my accomplishments
10:23 - 10:28
be the things that define me Not my outer appearance,
10:28 - 10:31
not the fact that I'm visually impaired,
10:31 - 10:36
not the fact that I have this syndrome
that nobody knows what it is.
10:36 - 10:39
So I told myself
I'm going to work my butt off
10:39 - 10:41
and do whatever I could
to make myself better,
10:41 - 10:47
because in my mind, the best way
that I could get back at all those people
10:47 - 10:50
who made fun of me, who teased me,
10:50 - 10:52

who called me ugly,

who called me a monster
10:52 - 10:55
was to make myself better,
and to show them:
10:55 - 10:56
You know what?
10:56 - 10:58
Tell me those negative things,
10:58 - 11:00
I'm going to turn them around,
11:00 - 11:02
and I'm going to use them as a ladder
11:02 - 11:04
to climb up to my goals.
11:04 - 11:05
That's what I did.
11:05 - 11:08
I told myself that I wanted
to be a motivational speaker,
11:08 - 11:09
I wanted to write a book,
11:09 - 11:12
graduate college, have my own family,
and have my own career.
11:13 - 11:15
Eight years later,
Im standing in front of you,
11:15 - 11:19
still doing motivational speaking.
11:19 - 11:21
First thing, I accomplished it.
11:21 - 11:25
I wanted to write a book;
in a couple of weeks
11:25 - 11:29
I will be submitting
the manuscript for my third book.
11:29 - 11:34
(Applause)
11:34 - 11:38
I wanted to graduate college,
and I just finished college.
11:38 - 11:41
(Cheers and applause)
11:41 - 11:45
I'm getting a degree
in Communication Studies
11:45 - 11:47

from Texas State University in San Marcos,

11:47 - 11:49
and I have a minor in English.
11:49 - 11:53
I really, really tried to use
real-life experience
11:53 - 11:58
while I was getting my degree,
and my professors were not having it.
11:58 - 12:02
I wanted to have, lastly,
my own family and my own career.
12:02 - 12:06
The family part is kind of down the line,
and my career part,
12:06 - 12:10
I feel like I'm really doing well with it,
considering the fact that
12:10 - 12:13
when I decided I wanted to be
a motivational speaker, I went home,
12:13 - 12:16
I sat in front of my laptop,
went to Google, and typed in:
12:16 - 12:18
"How to be a motivational speaker."
12:18 - 12:19
(Laughter)
12:19 - 12:21
I'm not even joking.
12:21 - 12:24
I worked my butt off.
I used the people who were telling me
12:24 - 12:27
that I couldn't do this
to motivate me.
12:27 - 12:31
I used their negativity
to light my fire to keep going.
12:31 - 12:35
Use that. Use that.
Use that negativity
12:35 - 12:38
that you have in your life
to make yourself better,
12:38 - 12:42
because I guarantee you 12:42 - 12:44
guarantee you -

 12:44 - 12:47
You will win.
12:47 - 12:51
Now I want to end, with asking you again.
12:51 - 12:56
I want you to leave here,
and ask yourself what defines you.
12:56 - 12:58
But remember:
12:58 - 13:00
Brave starts here.
13:01 - 13:02
Thank you.
13:02 - 13:09
(Applause)