Who doesn’t like Winnie Harlow! The Canadian supermodel, who’s now a woman to reckon with, is not only the inspiration for millions living with visual differences but for anyone that doesn’t fit in the box. But did you ever wonder who inspired this inspiration to remain inspiring? Uff! That was quite wordy. Wasn’t it? Winnie joined actress Drew Barrymore on her talk show – The Drew Barrymore show to answer this question.
Winnie Harlow was four years old when she was diagnosed with vitiligo. At four years old, she was a happy child; thanks to her family’s unconditional love. When she first got her first patch, Winnie’s mom was worried simply because it was something that she hadn’t heard of before. In times of such uncertainty, Winnie’s grandma, in many ways, inspired her to be the best version of herself.
The famous model with vitiligo recalled one specific experience on the show, “I remember my mom bringing me over to my grandmother and my aunt and lifting up the back of my shirt and being like, look, there’s a new spot on her back. And my grandmother was like, you can’t do that to her because she’s going to feel like her differences are something that’s negative and that’s not right. She has to grow up knowing that all the things that make her are valid and are beautiful. And that’s how you make her feel important.”
This seemed to move Drew who responded by saying, “And what a blessing that your grandmother had such awesome wisdom for your mom.” Winnie nodded in response and shared something extraordinary for the audience to ponder on. “Everyone is different which is what makes us all at the same. So, I have this thing where like, people always wanna be normal, but like, what is normal? There’s this idea of what normal is, but everyone’s normal. You have freckles, that’s normal. You have brown hair, that’s normal. You have green eyes, that’s normal. You have brown eyes, that’s normal. All these things are normal.”
Takeaway: It’s so important, especially with social media and so many outlets available for kids, to learn or watch things. We forget that the most important place for children to learn is at home. What parents teach their kids and enforce in their kids is important.
