Although she was born with a condition that doesn’t give her the ability to smile, one young woman just wants to spread joy.
Tayla Clement was born with Moebius Syndrome which is a rare condition that affects the facial nerves that control one’s eye movements and facial expressions, according to Hopkins Medicine.
“My eyebrows don’t move, my eyes don’t track from left to right, and my upper lip doesn’t move which means I can’t smile,” Tayla told ABC News.
This has led her to be called, “The girl who can’t smile.”
Because of her uniqueness, Tayla faced bullying when she was in school and that affected how she viewed herself.
“People would bring plastic bags to school and tell them to put it over my head because I was so ugly they didn’t want to see me or that I didn’t deserve to be seen,” Tayla explained.
Continuing she said, “I think when you grow up being told that you’re different and you’re ugly and you’re worthless you believe it because you don’t know anything else.”
Although Tayla endured hardships in her life she said that she is grateful that she “went through everything” because she gets to “inspire people and help people.”
“It just makes me so happy,” she said.
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After being discovered and signed by an international modeling agency, Tayla said, “To be so openly accepted and like wanted just yeah felt so amazing.”
She explained that having had no one to look up to “in movies or the media or on the front of magazines” caused her to feel “worthless” and “not accepted” because she didn’t see herself anywhere.
Although Tayla can’t smile on the outside, true joy comes from the inside because Galatians 5:22 says it is a “fruit of the Spirit.”
Tayla also shared what joy meant to her, “It’s another level of joy and happiness to be so content and comfortable and joyful and happy within who you are as a person. It’s also the most freeing thing in the world.”
