#SH with Jessica Foster
HEY JESSYCA, CAN YOU INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO US?
My name is Jessyca Foster, I’m from Chattanooga, TN and I would like to be a pediatric surgeon in the future. I enjoy music, cooking, writing, and sewing. I’m very crafty and enjoy working on projects. I feel as though a butterfly would represent me quite well since butterflies represent change and craniofacial awareness. I hope to continue to change myself and others for the better. My main goal in life is to help people through my words, actions, intelligence, and through my story.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST STRUGGLE WITH SELF-LOVE? WHAT’S YOUR STORY?
My biggest struggle with self love is being accepting towards myself and letting others opinions affect me. I was born with a craniofacial disease called Stickler Syndrome, which I inherited from my mother . Oddly, my mother does not know where she got our commonly shared disease from. This disease has caused me to be severely nearsighted, have bad hearing, a short nose, a slightly flat face, and has caused me to experience some slight symptoms of scoliosis at a young age . As a kid, I’ve had several consultations about having reconstructive surgery on my nose, I have had hearing aids, and I have incredibly thick glasses.
This disease has also taken a huge toll on my self esteem, as I’ve been bullied, not only by kids, but by adults as well. I remember one time being at a family friends house and hearing a guest say “That’s one ugly child.” Kids also would refer to me as “four eyes” and “ugly”. In elementary school, I got a vision teacher who I’d meet with and I’d receive tools like a Portable CCTV, iPad ,and magnifying glasses to better the way I see in school. The vision teacher stayed with me until 8th grade because I felt like I no longer needed them anymore and they were extremely distracting because they’d constantly pull me out of class.
I started to feel so bad about my appearance and the fact that I needed a “vision teacher”, I stopped caring about how I looked. I’d go to school carelessly. My hair would be messy, my lips were chapped, my breath was smelly, and my skin would be hard and ashy because I didn’t take care of myself. The only thing that looked decent were my clothes because my mom ironed them until I got a certain age and was forced to do it myself. I also stopped using my CCTV, iPad, and magnifying glasses to avoid being seen. On top of that, I became very hostile towards my classmates and teachers, and would get in trouble frequently for my attitude. I became very tomboyish because I felt like I wasn’t pretty enough to do anything girly, like paint my nails and put on dresses.
At the age of 10, I endured my first surgery to fix the bridge of my nose so that my glasses would stop sliding off my face. As I quickly recovered, I noticed that I was having frequent, daily nose bleeds. The surgeon who operated on me said it was drainage, but little did I know, my surgery had been botched.
WHEN DID THINGS BEGIN TO CHANGE FOR YOU?
At the age of 13, I underwent my second surgery to remove the bone in my nose. Long story short, it was a successful surgery and I quickly recovered. I started to look at myself in the mirror differently. I saw a change and started to explore my looks .The nosebleeds were gone and I wasn’t bullied as much besides a few snide comments here and there…This was when the transformation truly happened. My nose wasn’t flat anymore, the nosebleeds were gone completely, and all I had left was a beautiful scar on my ribcage.
WHAT WAS YOUR BIGGEST TAKEAWAY FROM YOUR STORY?
The funny thing is, this all happened in 2018 and I am now a 15 year old sophomore and honors student in high school. I am still judged a lot for the way I look when I walk through the halls, but there’s a difference; I don’t care about what they say. I can finally say I feel more confident in myself, not because of the surgeries I’ve had, not because of the clothes on my back, not because of the people who love and adore me, but because of the uniqueness I have discovered in myself.
My doll like eyes have seen more than any teen I know . My nose has been under the knife more than anyone I know and I’m still not completely done with the process yet . My mouth has had more stitches from all the surgeries than ever . My point is, I am a walking storybook. Every unique physical attribute about me has a story behind it. I hope in the future to become a craniofacial surgeon to inspire, learn about, and help people just like me and I’ve had endless support from all of my friends and family whom I love dearly.
Adding to that, I have explored my feminine side and I feel confident enough to embrace it. If I could give any craniofacial kid advice, it would be to embrace how you look . There’s such a unique story to tell behind us all that the people need to hear. You ARE NOT the disease you suffer from. People are gonna tell you hurtful things and people are going to judge you constantly, but people are only obstacles put in this world to hold us down.
HOW WOULD YOU LIKE YOUR SELF-LOVE JOURNEY TO INSPIRE OTHER WOMEN?
My transformation can help other women realize that they are not what someone says they are. They are not a diagnosis. They are beautiful, unique, and they should embrace any flaws they have. I may be young and my story may not be complete, but my goal in life is to help people, and There’s nothing more helpful to people than to inspire them to embrace themselves and not worry about society’s standards . Rules are meant to be broken after all.
WHAT ARE 3 OF YOUR FAVORITE QUOTES? WHAT DO THEY MEAN TO YOU?
“Beauty fades and dumb is forever”
— Judge Judy
This is one of my favorite quotes because it denounces that beauty is the most important attribute. Your mindset, personality, and intelligence makes you into a memorable person. Material possessions will be destroyed and youth will fade as you age.
“I believe in standardizing automobiles. I do not believe in standardizing human beings.”
— Albert Einstein
This quote is very important to me. Society’s standards are quite outrageous. There’s no such thing as a “perfect woman” or “perfect man”. Society needs to stop pressuring us to be something we’re not. If we were all the same, the world would be nothing but black and white. There would be no shades of color. There would be no uniqueness. Wouldn’t that be boring?
“You must be the change you want to see in the world.”
— Ghandi
This quote tells me to make a difference and that’s what I’m here to do. I firmly believe my life calling is to help and inspire others.
WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN 3-5 YEARS?
In 3-5 years I see myself in college majoring in biomedical engineering. I will also be getting ready to attend medical school and begin my residency training.
WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE SELF-LOVE + SELF-CARE PRACTICES?
Some of my favorite self care and love practices are having a self spa day, giving myself pep talks in the mirror, taking pictures of myself (this has actually helped me the most when it came to gaining confidence), spending time with myself, writing letters to myself, and journaling
WHAT DOES #SELFHONEYMOON MEAN TO YOU?
Self honeymoon to me means to spend time with yourself, get to know yourself, and love yourself . After all, if you don’t love yourself, who will? You’re your own first love.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jess.ycaa/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/self_love_hoe/
