Meet Nathalia Moraes Freitas
Name: Nathalia Moraes Freitas
Age: 32
Occupation: Motivational Speaker & Body Positive Advocate
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Skin Condition: Large Congenital Melanocytic Nevus—or just Nevus
I feel like people with skin conditions often have a one-line explanation that they use to explain their skin condition to others. Tell us yours.
I was born with a condition called facial Large Congenital Melanocytic Nevus, that's basically a birthmark.
What are you up to in life right now?
Today, I share my story on social media and advocate for body positivity. I give motivational speeches against bullying and about how to improve self-esteem. I have a background in marketing, love to cook and dancing is my therapy.
You have a facial difference. Tell us about it.
I had nine surgeries to remove part of my facial nevus, so today I still have birthmarks and scars from the surgeries.
I think, when our skin or our appearance is different than the norm, getting to a place of self-acceptance and self-love can take a lot of work. How did you get there?
Absolutely, especially when it is on your face. In school, I was bullied and kids used called me cruel names like monster, Freddy Krueger, ugly face. It was the worse time of my life. I never told my mom about what I was going through and the support system in school was not good. So, one day I was fed up—I was done with having people teasing me for being different. I started thinking about what they were saying and I realized that it does not matter. It is just the way I look and it doesn't interfere in anyone's life. Then I started to embrace myself and life became easier.
Why did you decide to start doing body positive activism online?
Last year, I started posting about my story and how I built my self-esteem, and I got a very positive response. People started engaging with me on social media, sending me direct messages and asking “How did you overcome bullying and having visible differences? What’s your secret?” So I decided to create a multimedia platform called “Loving My Dots” where I share my story and discuss subjects such as self-esteem, self-love, self-acceptance, empowerment and body positivity.
For those of us who are still in the process of making peace with our skin, what advice do you have?
I think about our skin as gift wrap. No matter what it looks like, the most important thing is what is inside. Be nice to yourself, love and accept the way you are, there is no other option. And I promise you that when you start loving the skin you are in, life will become easier. I believe that it is a process, there are some good days and sometimes it is not that easy—and that is ok.
Where can we keep up with you?
You can follow me on Instagram @lovingmydots and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/lovingmydotsofficial. Also on Youtube where I post a new video every other week: https://www.youtube.com/lovingmydots