Shelley-Marie Sumner, 23, from Walsall, West Midlands was born with severe eczema, and was bullied throughout her childhood years and the majority of her life as a teenager. Who would have thought that this girl who suffered and lost her self-confidence in the process would one day become a beauty queen?
Shelley suffered from sore red patches of eczema that almost covered her entire body. Doctors told her mother that she would eventually grow out of it, but it became worse as she grew up. What made her condition more difficult was the bullying she got from other children who thought she was contagious. Aside from being called "snake-skin," they also called her "Anorexic Annie" because she was so thin.
She never had many friends when she was younger because children avoided her. There were also times that she thought of hurting herself.
She consulted a dermatologist to treat her condition, but none of the products helped.
But during her late teen years, just like a miracle, her eczema started to die down, and she began dating Dean Williams, 23, who encouraged her to join a regional beauty contest. She wasn't confident about her appearance at that time, but once she read that she would get to do charity work if she was crowned as the winner, she was convinced enough to participate, according to the Daily Mail.
Shelley bagged the crown as Miss Black Country and went on to compete for the Miss England title in May where she became one of the top 20 finalists.
"I was picked on every day at school because of my eczema and it shattered my confidence. I never dreamed I would have the courage to enter a beauty pageant, let alone win, but I've finally shown the bullies that their words won't hold me back anymore," Shelley told the Cavendish Press.
"Since doing Miss Black Country, getting involved in charity work and seeing how well I am compared to other people, it makes me feel lucky to even be here. In the future I'd like to go into schools and talk about bullying and self-esteem. I want to urge victims to speak up and not suffer in silence like I did."
