I’ve been living with vitiligo for over 15 years and though it’s progressed slowly, it has been a huge part of my life. Vitiligo has given me purpose in life. That may sound strange, but it has. It has given me opportunities that I don’t think would have entered my life without it.
When I started this website 10 years ago, I did so because I wanted to share with everyone who has vitiligo something that was helping me live a happier life, my Vitiligo Cover Lotion. But many more dimensions quickly developed; I was communicating with other people around the world who had vitiligo. I didn’t know anyone who had it, and apparently neither did they, so instantly deep connections were made.
Don’t mistake this for the old adage, misery loves company, it was a case of 2 people connecting and forming a silent bond through a shared experience: vitiligo. And that was just through emails at the beginning- it was only 2004, afterall. With the boom of social media sites, the loving connections I made grew exponentially.
I started with MySpace (I still hold a special place in my heart for that group). Next came Facebook, then LinkedIn, and tumblr, instagram, etc. It’s been an amazing experience to watch these groups grow and to see thousands of people who once felt so alone become a part of a truly loving and compassionate community.
It’s so wonderful to be able to talk with others about vitiligo, but this year I want to take it a few steps further. While there isn’t yet a cure for vitiligo (and believe me, there are a lot of companies working on it, so don’t despair), we can heal the emotional issues that come along with it.
My goal this year is to focus less on what I don’t have control over- finding a cure, and focus on what I can control- helping myself and others live a happy life with vitiligo. We’ll work together to repair whatever needs fixing, it could be self-esteem, self-confidence, self-image…in other words, lol, working on our “self”.
I look forward to a beautiful year with you!