I have always had low self esteem as I grew up being cleft palate and have endured over 40 operations on my face ( nose, upper lip and gums, palate and also my eardrums) I can honestly say kids can be mean but adults are the cruelest of them all. I have been called all sorts of names and physically hurt in many ways. my elementary years were the hardest but did well in school, high school was easier but harder to fit in... for someone who is shy and self conscious about her image making friends was not easy but I did graduate. then came college I went to Marca college (beauty school) and everything changed.... for the better! I gained my confidence and learned to love my self image. I also saw that hair was my passion and how I excelled in all my classes while at college.so from there I had two boys and gained a lot of weight and decided it was time to shed the body fat and the pounds. I saw an awesome page on Facebook called ripped goddess and it really motivated me to get my ass in gear and that is where i saw this website so I joined right away!