Within the plethora of Instagram flawless beauties that make ordinary young girls feel even more insecure about their looks, a new kind of princess is taking the world by a storm, not just with her looks, giving us a lesson on beauty — and life for that matter. Her name is Andrea Sierra Salazar and she is a 17-year-old high school student from Texas, a model, and a cancer patient. None of these things defines her as a person. Why? Because she decided so.

The struggle

The diagnosis of stage 2 nodular sclerosis Hodgkin lymphoma came suddenly, causing Andrea’s life to take another turn. With a great support system and encouragement from her mum, Andrea has managed to regain her confidence and continue to pursue a modelling hobby with a fresh perspective on what constitutes beauty.

For centuries, long and full hair has been one of the never-changing symbols of female beauty, causing those not blessed with it to suffer from feeling not good enough and to undergo all sorts of ridiculous treatments in order to reach this must-have standard. Ironically enough, more than serving as a tool for self-acceptance, hair (the longer the better) has been used by young girls as a hideaway of a sort, from the harsh looks and judgment of a false-beauty-standard society.

And just when you start thinking that the world has gone too far, idealizing impossible-to-reach norms of beauty and causing the majority of young girls start blindly conforming to it, a truly inspiring and beautiful soul comes to the forefront to make us question it all.

The defining moment

The self-realization moment didn’t happen overnight for Andrea. Hair loss affected her confidence greatly, yet she managed to smooth the transition with playful wigs that accompanied each styling and look.

“When my hair started to fall out I would look in the mirror and I wouldn’t feel that confident about myself,” Andrea said.

Luckily for all the young girls out there, being cancer patients or not, Andrea has gradually learned one of the most important life truths that “It’s not only about my outside beauty, it’s about the inside.”

Her photoshoot without a wig went viral as it revealed something more than just Andrea’s amazing physical beauty — it showed the exceptional magnificence of a human soul to show bravery in not withholding its vulnerability, and that’s where the true beauty begins.

A new kind of princess

The reason that this story continues to touch so many hearts all around the world is because it conveys such a powerful message about turning something as ugly as cancer into something as wonderful as helping others to accept and love themselves no matter what. It started as a mission to empower other cancer patients at the hospital she was at to regain their confidence, to now reaching millions of people and truly redefining beautiful.

“I want them to know that your hair or your physical attributes doesn’t define who you are – what really matters is your inner beauty, the way you treat others, and if you’re a kind person, that shows through.”

The powerful message this girl sends goes far beyond redefining the standards of beauty. It speaks of the ability of the soul to transcend all physical obstacles and shine through illusory appearance. She teaches us to not give up on our dreams even when times get rough. A true princess of today, Andrea inspires our looks-obsessed society to look for beauty beyond the exterior, and her story will surely make you think twice the next time you allow your bad hair day to get you down.