Every single person on this planet is unique. The sooner we all learn to embrace the qualities that make us different from one another, the happier we’ll be!
Videos by InspireMore
This lesson didn’t come easily for 28-year-old social media creator Amara Aleman. In 2017, she was diagnosed with vitiligo, a condition that causes pale white patches to appear on the skin due to a lack of melanin. Although she was crushed by the diagnosis, in time she started to see the beauty in her “ArtSpots.”
@amara_artspots Replying to @alessa.____.1 💜@fentybeauty #thenextfentyface #vitiligo #artspots ♬ Pretend TheBossWives – szgcouture
After her diagnosis, Amara quit working as a dancer and theater performer and stayed at home for a year. She was so embarrassed by her white patches that she wore long sleeves and make up to cover them whenever she went out in public. She became increasingly depressed, anxious, and reclusive. Ultimately it was her parents who pulled her out of her funk.
“My parents were the first step in me coming to terms with the condition, because they never treated me any differently and always encouraged me to try to see the positive in it,” she said. “So with their advice, I started going out a bit more and seeing friends again.”
She later reconnected with an old friend, and the relationship turned romantic. She credits her new boyfriend with helping her open up and accept herself more. She started to tap into her latent creativity, deciding to amplify the spots rather than try to hide them. Once she shared pictures and videos of her painted ArtSpots online, she realized she could help other people living with vitiligo feel more confident in their skin, too.
“The main inspiration behind what initially sparked ArtSpots is the idea of taking lemons and making lemonade,” she explained. “Life will continue to be unpredictable and it will defeat you if you’re not able to adapt and see beauty in imperfections or differences.”
Amara says sharing her videos is like a form of therapy as well as being a creative outlet. She has gained over 165,000 followers on TikTok, and her videos have 5.5 million likes.
“Whenever I get a comment from someone who has vitiligo or knows someone with the condition saying that they’re inspired by my art, it’s almost surreal,” Amara said. “I remember how hard it was for me to accept my skin enough to celebrate it, but I realize every time I get a comment like this why it’s so important for me to continue.”
Amara doesn’t know where her social media fame will take her, but she is just glad to be helping people find beauty in their own differences. She’s also happy to represent the vitiligo community in such a positive, beautiful way.
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