All of us have moments where we lack self-confidence for various reasons but too often it’s down to the way we look.
When you really think about it, it’s ridiculous. Our bodies are there to protect what’s on the inside and get us from ‘a’ to ‘b’ yet there is still much pressure for us gals (and guys) to look a certain way, hence why we love to come across inspirational stories like these.
Meet Lucy Carpenter, aged 14, and Sammy McCombe, aged 12 – two best friends from Australia who have started their very own fashion and modelling Instagram page. They can be seen exuding confidence while sporting their favourite looks, so lets not be too surprised if the girls find themselves modelling for some of the top agencies in future.
But what makes them stand out? They both have albinism.
The two were born with oculocutaneous albinism (OCA) which causes a reduction or even a total lack of melanin pigment in the skin, eyes and hair. People with OCA usually have to deal with problems regarding vision, including an increased sensitivity to light. It’s estimated that 1 in 20,000 people have the somewhat rare genetic features.
In the past, the girls have had to deal with bullying and teasing for simply being unique. According to the Mail Online, Lucy said,
“I’ve been called four-eyes and a ghost and have been compared to animals.”
“Some challenges I face can be as simple as not fitting into a category when your Year Two maths class is sorting people into groups by their eye colour.”
Clearly, these people were being extremely silly if you ask us. And of course, having these distinctive attributes only makes the girls more unique. Thankfully both Lucy and Sammy see their beauty and both are now very accepting, crediting their parents for teaching them they’re no different to others.
Now the duo who met six years ago, at a Guide Dogs Australia camp, make the most of their looks by modelling clothes from their favourite shops and having an all-round ball of a time while doing so.
Their love of fashion and photography grew from the time they met a baby with albinism. The tots mum showed the girls her baby’s Instagram page with pictures of her little girl dress in the most adorable outfits and wearing the cutest accessories. This initial dose of inspiration manifested into their own creative and distinctive Instagram page.
Since starting their Instagram page, people from all over the world have given them an immense amount of credit and the girls have seen how intrigued people can be when it comes to learning more about albinism.
Clearly embracing our own unique selves is a sure way of being our happiest selves too so things are only looking up for these two.
