What is beauty? Who defines what ‘looks’ beautiful and what really IS beautiful? The world around us is so obsessed about how it looks, but how many of us can actually embrace our flaws?

Cassandra Naud was born with a rare condition known as hypertrichosis, which causes excessive hair growth on certain parts of the body. She embraced it as a part of her personality and made it the reason behind her individuality. Her courage and her take on beauty stands out.

I’ve always looked good in red #tbt

A photo posted by Cassandra Naud (@cassandranaud) on

She was born with  a birth mark on her right cheek, and her parents were presented with the option to remove it. They were told that removing the birthmark would scar Cassandra’s face forever, which is why they chose against it.

B&W;

A photo posted by Cassandra Naud (@cassandranaud) on

22 years later, Naud is thankful to her parents for making that decision for her. Even though it caused her problems in school, she wouldn’t have it any other way. She has embraced the uniqueness of herself.

Happy Friday!

A photo posted by Cassandra Naud (@cassandranaud) on

“My birthmark makes me unique and memorable […] It is who I am, and I honestly don’t feel it has ever held me back,” said Cassandra to a national periodical.

Love me a nice lunge. Thanks for the awesome shots @way2major_ !

A photo posted by Cassandra Naud (@cassandranaud) on

Now, a successful professional dancer, she gets comments on her birthmark about how she should remove it. One agent even suggested that she photoshop it. Naud simply smiles back at all the attention and opinions, she says the mark is advantageous for her career and makes sure people don’t forget her once they’ve met.

Watch her dance reel to see how fabulous a dancer she really is! Birth-mark or no birth-mark it doesn’t really matter.

We found the story here .