With the rise of social media, we’re constantly seeing images of perfect-looking people, making the world seem even more focused on appearances.
For those who don’t fit this “perfect” mold, life can be tough, with strangers feeling the need to criticize others based on their looks.
Karine de Souza knows this all too well. The Brazilian woman has a rare skin condition that requires her to cover her skin in SPF100 sunscreen, even when she’s indoors.
At age three, Karine was diagnosed with Xeroderma Pigmentosum, a rare condition that makes her very sensitive to sunlight and puts her at high risk for skin cancer.
This condition, which has no cure, means her skin can’t repair damage from UV rays. Just a few minutes in the sun can lead to very painful sunburns for her. As a child, she had to stay inside most of the time because being outside was too dangerous.
She explains, “I don’t feel anything right away when I’m in the sun, but later on, I get painful lesions that need to be removed because of cancer.”
Karine has had 130 surgeries to remove lesions caused by the sun, including parts of her lower lip and nose.
But her challenges go beyond physical pain. She often gets stared at and has faced verbal abuse both in person and online.
Despite all this, Karine stays positive and happy. She even found love with her husband, Edmilson, whom she met through social media. Edmilson was drawn to her story and strength, and he’s always been by her side, knowing he wanted to spend his life with her.
He also decided to embrace Karine’s three children from her previous relationship, which of course, meant a lot to Karine.
”He came and he showed me that I could live a true love story”, she says.
But after posting photos of them together online, Karine was once again exposed to a whole host of offensive comments.
”We have already read many offensive comments calling me a monster, deformed, a zombie,” Karine said, as per the Daily Mail.
Other comments suggested that their relationship wasn’t genuine and that Karine was a ”sugar mommy,” and that she must be very rich.
”Because of the fact he’s a young man and pretty, that caught people’s attention and they didn’t believe that he was with me because he really liked me,” Karine said.
A photographer who captured the couple after they got engaged posted a selection of the images online and wrote:
”In a world where appearance matters more than the feeling, they met not by chance, but by a gathering of souls, an encounter of acceptance and character and love emerged when their souls met and today you are the inspiration to so many people who do not believe in themselves, in life and especially in love.
“THANK YOU every day for being who you are. STOP complaining for being like you are. HUG LIFE, and accept yourself. Much gratitude for teaching me so much. You guys are AMAZING. You are the missing hope in so many people. Thank you for the big hug, and for the wonderful day we experienced together. I carry your smile with me forever.”
His heartfelt words and beautiful images he captured of Karine and Edmilson went viral, and thousands of people commented, congratulating the couple.
Karine wants others to realize the importance of being positive.
”Be happy, smile, because life happens only once,” she said.
In 2023, Karine and Edmílson welcomed a baby girl into the world, and they couldn’t be happier! Their daughter, Zaia, was long awaited – Karine and her husband had been trying for a baby since 2020.
Karine has been through so much but thanks to her positive attitude she has found the happiness she deserves.
Her story is inspirational so help us inspire others in similar situations by sharing this story with your friends and family.
Malia Obama, 25, debuted a new moniker as she began her Hollywood career
Growing up in front of the eyes of the public isn’t something Malia Obama is not familiar with. Being the daughter of the former president of the United States, Barak Obama, she has spent her life under the limelight, and even today, the media is interested in her every move.
The 25-year-old just presented her directorial debut, The Heart, at the Sundance Film Festival. In the Sundance Institute’s “Meet the Artist” spotlight video, Malia Obama revealed she was going by the name Malia Ann, thus ditching her moniker.
Malia, who was born Malia Ann Obama on July 4, 1998, has her middle name honoring her paternal grandmother, who died from ovarian cancer at the age of 52 in 1995, and now, she has dropped her last name in favor of her middle name.
Speaking of the short film for which she served as both director and screenwriter, Malia said. “This is an odd little story, somewhat of fable, about a man grieving the death of his mother after she leaves him an unusual request in her will.” Further, in the YouTube clip of the short film, she wrote, “The film is about lost objects and lonely people and forgiveness and regret, but I also think it works hard to uncover where tenderness and closeness can exist in these things.”
The Heat isn’t her first attempt into the profession. Previously, the Harvard grad worked in the writers’ room on Donald’s Amazon Prime show Swarm, co-writing the fifth episode, “Girl, Bye.”
“She’s a very professional person,” Swarm‘s co-creator Janine Nabers said Malia in a January 2023 Vanity Fair interview. “She’s an incredible writer and artist. She made significant contributions… She’s very, truly committed to her craft.”
Swarm‘s executive producer Stephen Glover also spoke of Malia. “We can’t be easy on her just because she’s the [former] President’s daughter,” he told Vanity Fair. “No, she is really down-to-earth and cool. So it’s not an issue at all.”
Malia Obama isn’t the first celebrity who made the decision to ditch their family name. Other celebs have done that before, including Nicolas Cage, who changed his last name from Coppola, and Angelina Jolie, who dropped her surname, Voight.
For her directorial debut, Malia looked cozy, with minimal makeup, her curly hair down with small braids scattered throughout.
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