The Importance of Self Definition

Lizzie Velasquez's self definition speech discusses what it is that defines an individual. The motivational speaker and author was born with a rare medical condition, meaning that she's unable to gain weight and she is also visually impaired in one eye.

In her speech, Velasquez, who was once labelled "The World's Ugliest Woman," tells the audience of her difficult life, as she recounts being bullied in her earlier stages of life, even until this day.

Velasquez also tells us of her past perception of herself, thinking that what defines a person or individual was through their physical appearance, like her tiny frame and her outer appearance.

Velasquez' speech also thanks her parents for treating her as normal as possible, educating her on the insignificance of her outer appearance and that her syndrome doesn't define who she is. Through remodeling and re-creating her own definition of herself, Velasquez has been able to turn the negatives in her life, into positives, using her shortcomings as a motivational ladder towards her goals and ambitions.