Esabella Parisi was born bearing a huge birthmark running from one ear down her neck.
While the birthmark did not medically threaten Parisi's health in any way, her mother, Marie Washburn, immediately worried doing nothing to reduce its size would leave her precious daughter vulnerable to future bullying.
Thus, starting weeks after her birth, Parisi began undergoing laser treatments to reduce her port-wine stain's size and hue.
Seven years later, Parisi is a bright, beautiful, and vibrantly sassy gal who loves to sing, dance, and act. Despite bouts of bullying she's endured related to her birthmark, she's proud of how she looks.
So when Parisi wanted to enter a local beauty pageant, her parents, initially nervous about likely ridicule, couldn't deny their daughter her chance to shine.
Upon arrival, Parisi was asked if she'd like to cover up her birthmark for the competition. She adamantly refused.
Keep scrolling through below to see how this body-positive seven-year-old embraced her birthmark and rocked the pageant stage!
[H/T: Daily Mail]
When Esabella Parisi was born, doctors rushed to her mother Marie Washburn's bedside to voice their concern.
Parisi had a huge port-wine stain birthmark running from one ear down her neck.
The following picture shows Parisi in the hospital and may be disturbing to some readers. If you'd like to see her birthmark after laser surgery, click to reveal the image.
While the birthmark posed no threat to Parisi's health, her mother worried its presence could cause bullies to target her daughter in the future.
Washburn told Daily Mail, "I heard treatment works better when children with port-wine stains are younger as the skin is thinner, so will fade and not grow as quickly.
“I didn’t know what she would want at such a young age but knew I had to give her the best shot of stopping the mark from growing bigger or getting any worse.”
Over the next few years, the New Haven, Connecticut, native underwent 20 laser treatments to destroy her port-wine stain's widened blood cells.
Even with treatment, Parisi still faced episodes of bullying.
"After treatment she would be left with dark purple circles," her mother told Daily Mail. "They only lasted two weeks but the strangers would automatically think there was something wrong with her.
“I was absolutely terrified about bullying, especially after the weird looks and comments I heard from other parents.
“When she was a baby people would always give us dirty looks and ask us what happened to her face all the time and some parents would pull their kids away, thinking she was contagious.”
So last month, when Parisi decided she'd like to enter a local beauty pageant, Washburn's concern for her daughter grew.
She said, "I was a little worried about entering her for the pageants at first but she loves to act, sing, dance and really wanted to do it, so I didn't want to stop her."
Despite her mother's concern, Parisi dominated the East Coast USA Pageant stage, refusing to cover up her birthmark, and winning second place!
By winning second place, she claimed a spot in next month's national competition.
"I cried all the way through the pageant after seeing how confident she looked up on the stage," Washburn said of her daughter's win.
“She was so sassy when walking down the runway, she held eye contact with everyone watching her and was even blowing kisses to the judges.
“When she was younger, I was so worried that she would be bullied or embarrassed by her birthmark, but she loves it and is so confident.
“After telling me she wasn’t going to hide her birthmark and didn’t need the make-up to cover it I was so proud.
“I think she’s beautiful and she knows her birthmark is nothing to be ashamed of so I couldn’t be a prouder mother.”
Parisi has even taken that confidence back with her into her daily life.
At school, she happily answers questions other kids ask about her birthmark.
"Even now at such a young age she knows how to answer questions about her birthmark and doesn't seem to be concerned by it at all," Washburn said.
“The kids in her class even started searching to see if they had beauty marks too, which was sweet, they’re all supportive and thankfully I know that my daughter is confident in who she is.”
This seven-year-old is taking the pageant world by storm, proud to share her natural beauty with the world.
What do you think of this seven-year-old's victory? Were you, or a loved one, born with a port-wine stain? Tell us about your experience in the comments.
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