How has your appearance affected your life?

1. I have [goldenhar syndrome](https://www.google.com/search?q=goldenhar+syndrome&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjU4PrG3draAhXDm-AKHeFxAlEQ_AUICigB&biw=1366&bih=662) It used to cause me a lot of worry, but in truth these days I could care less that realistically I look like I got hit with a hammer. I live a pretty good life. I'm not lonely. Nobody treats me differently far as I know. I think being [TLC ugly](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBwkDhGE8aY) is actually kind of a weight off my shoulders, weirdly. Other people obsess over pimples or little things and freak out and beat themselves up. I'm literally deformed and manage to get laid now and then and despite everything am reasonably happy. So what does that say about the validity of our insecurities as people? At the very least I think people assume that I've had it harder then I do. When I was a kid these things bothered me, yes. I felt very isolated and hideous. But as I get older I made peace with that and realized everybody feels like that from time to time anyway. There is no point in obsessing over something I can't change, especially something as realistically minor as my face. Despite the two links above I'm actually reasonably normal looking anyway, albeit kind of goofy. So what? I'm goofy. What am I supposed to cry about it? If it wasn't this shit it wold be something else. Nothing I feel is any more intense then what other people feel. We all get old, hideous, and die anyway. I could spend that time wallowing in self pity or I can enjoy myself before my organs shut down.
   — thatsmyfinaltruth


2. I have severe crooked teeth and I can't afford to get braces. I have extra teeth in my gum too which means I have to undergo surgery before trying to get braces. Pretty much all of my relatives have told me that they're disgusted by my teeth and advice me to stop smiling 'unnecessarily'. Thankfully, nobody else has said anything about my teeth but I can definitely sense the discomfort whenever I smile or laugh. Friends who have known me for a while seem to be comfortable with me but most of them did asked me about whether I plan to get braces or not. When it comes to making meaningful relationship with other, my appearance isn't really a hindrance. However, it's extremely tough for me to excel on things where first impression matters the most such as job interviews.
   — Dr-Absurd


3. I've lost about 200lbs in the past year and a half. I can't get over how often people hold doors for me now.
   — antalog






4. I have albinism. I'm 100% Puerto Rican though, so my whole life people have looked at me odd because of how pale I am and how my eyes move back and forth rapidly. I've been called many names and never was picked for anything. I had some hardships through middle school and high school but they have made me the strong woman I am today, despite my disabilities.
   — palezombies


5. Surgery for cancer when I was a teenager took my jaw muscle and facial nerve on one side. Consequently, one side of my face is all concave and fucked up. Over time it stopped looking so bad in a mirror, but whenever I get photographed I see it the way everyone else must, and it's brutal. So, to answer the question, it ruined my formative years and now it's well into ruining my 20s! I've basically given up all hope of ever having any sort of intimate relationship (even if I were to find a nice blind girl, having zero self-confidence for over a decade leaves me with no game to speak of). I probably consider suicide at least twice a year (usually around christmas & birthday).
   — gammaburn


6. I covered a lot of my body in tattoos as a young soldier. I am already tall and stocky and kind of look like those guys that get typecast as prisoners and bikers in every movie they're in. Now as a 31 year old undergrad, people give me the stink eye pretty regularly. I get asked if I can get people various drugs sometimes. Little do they know I spend my free time drinking tea and painting Warhammer.
   — SheedWallace






7. In school I was the guy that people who were picked on picked on. Bottom of the ladder. Learned to dislike people somewhere in there. Around 20 my shoulders and neck filled out quite a lot and I started buzzing my head. Developed a permanent disgruntled expression (resting bitch face?). People generally leave me alone now. Worked out well.
   — Sartrem


8. Apparently, there was a person who found my appearance appealing enough to marry me. That's good enough for me.
   — Bruncvik