From Bullying to Model Life: Learn the Story of Thando Hopa

It is not exactly news that the fashion world selects its models based on very strict aesthetic criteria. In this sense, 25-year-old South African lawyer Thando Hopa is not only succeeding as a model but can be seen as an example that some patterns can and should be broken.

“I finally decided that beauty is a decision, and I will be beautiful despite what people say. My motto is now 'a different tone than usual, ' ”she told the Daily Mail. This question of normality lies precisely in the fact that Thando is albino, a characteristic that is definitely not common in the universe of catwalks or photo shoots.

The invitation to be a model came from designer Gert-Johan Coetzee, who suggested that Thando participate in a photo shoot to promote her new collection. At first the lawyer said she would think about it before making a decision. Fortunately, she had her mother's encouragement, which made her see the proposal as "an opportunity to change people's perception of albinism."

It was Thando's mother who also asked her to remember how she was treated by others throughout her life: “My parents tried to make me feel no different, but when I went to school, the children didn't they acted that way and called me a lot of stuff, ”he blurted out.

Still about the bullying suffered mainly during childhood, the model said that she always had the support of parents, who did everything to make her not feel different from other children. Even so, at school things were more complicated. And prejudice also existed among older people: “Once, when I was about seven, a woman stopped me in the street and started screaming, saying I was the devil's daughter, ” she reported.

The transition to modeling life helped Thando feel safer about her appearance. Today, for example, she no longer tries to change the tone of her skin with makeup or hide under large, loose-fitting clothes. The trust process, of course, did not come overnight, but it was worth the wait. “People tell me that I became a positive influence for their children, ” he celebrates.

Via BaixakiGames.