beauty standards, Pakala now appreciates her skin and uses her experiences to positively influence those around her. “I think it’s important to realize that as long as you love yourself enough, society can’t change you no matter how hard they try. I’m in this body for the rest of my life. There is absolutely no point in shaming myself for who and what I was meant to be. I might as well learn to love myself because I’m never leaving this body to become somebody else. It’s been a real struggle growing up with vitiligo, but in the end, it’s the main thing I’m most thankful for in my life because it helped shape who I am today,” Pakala positively replied.
Photos by: Kenjela Mullings
“In half of all vitiligo cases, onset occurs between the ages of 10 and 30.” American Vitiligo Research Foundation
“The risk for children of affected individuals is unknown, but may be less than