How would you respond to your seemingly flawless skin suddenly being covered with pustules, flakes, and lesions? Well, I had my first outbreak during the summer of 2005 and psoriasis invaded my body and altered my life without warning. There’s no trace in my family history and to date, doctors still don’t have a rational explanation as to what triggered this. My story is unique in that not only do I have psoriasis, but I also have Lupus, and sometimes the medications I take counteract each other and make the situation worse. See, it’s not a problem when it’s covered up with makeup, hats, pants, jeans, or long sleeve shirts. When you have a skin flare-up, the looks that question what’s wrong can damage your esteem, but you learn to walk in confidence in spite of the prejudgments.

Every person’s story is a journey, and you learn to manage the physical, social, mental, and emotional aspects of living with sickness, disease, or any other type of ailment. My faith has been strengthened through all the tests that I've had to take. I used to ask God to remove the "thorns". Now I ask for him to use me with the "thorns" to show someone else that it's not what you go through but it's how you go through it.  There are many ways you can empower yourself in your daily life, so I’m determined to shout it out to everyone that you can give your acceptance speech to living with heartache, pain, and setbacks.