British bullying victim becomes beauty queen

A British lady who was subjected to a bullying ordeal due to her serious eczema has hit back against her tormentors – by being becoming a major beauty queen. Shelley-Marie Sumner, 23, endured day-to-day taunts of ‘snake skin’ throughout college due to the…

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A British lady who was subjected to a bullying ordeal due to her serious eczema has hit back against her tormentors – by being becoming a major beauty queen.

Shelley-Marie Sumner, 23, endured day-to-day taunts of ‘snake skin’ throughout college due to the situation which impacted her face and physique and it left her desperately below-confident and contemplating self-harm.

But the dance teacher refused to cower away right after she left school and when her eczema eased off she entered a regional beauty pageant at the suggestion of her boyfriend. Now she has had the final laugh right after she was crowned Miss Black Country and went on to compete in the Miss England pageant.

Shelley, from Walsall, West Midlands mentioned: “I was picked on each day at school mainly because of my eczema and it shattered my self-confidence. I under no circumstances dreamed I would have the courage to enter a beauty pageant, let alone win, but I’ve lastly shown the bullies that their words won’t hold me back any a lot more.”

Shelley-Marie had been born with sore red patches of eczema covering her body and though physicians told her mother Tracey-Marie that she would develop out of it, the situation only got worse. By the time Shelley-Marie was a toddler, she was covered from head to toe in eczema.

“It was seriously severe. My skin was usually sticky and when my hair began to grow extended, I had to have it reduce brief so it wouldn’t get stuck to the eczema on my neck.

“It was in my eyes and the creases of my arms and legs. Mum made use of to bandage my hands up at evening so I could not scratch myself in my sleep. I nonetheless try to sleep in gloves now to stop myself scratching, simply because it really is turn out to be such a habit.”

“In major school it wasn’t as poor as you are only kids, but at higher school the bullying got a lot worse. People would attempt and get away from me like I was contagious. We had to put on lengthy-sleeved shirts so in the course of the summer, I was always going to see the school nurse to place my eczema cream on and cool down.

”That unquestionably didn’t enable. Most of the bullying was throughout PE lessons when I wore shorts and everyone could see the rash all over my legs. I hated it – I often attempted to get out of PE, which I regret now.

“I from time to time got prank calls where the bullies would just laugh and hang up on me. I was tiny as well, so they named me ‘Anorexic Annie’. As a youngster you can not neglect the name-calling.

“I under no circumstances had a lot of pals. At my lowest point I was seeing the college counselor and I started pondering about self-harm. I had significant trust troubles,” she says.

Shelley-Marie generally went to see a dermatologist as a teenager in an attempt to soothe her sore skin, but under no circumstances found the ‘wonder product’ she was hoping for.

She mentioned: “I’ve attempted lots of types of aloe vera creams, cocoa butter, steroid cream. Some of them seemed like the answer but as quickly as my skin got employed to them, they’d cease working. I’ve spent a shocking quantity of time and cash searching for the ideal skin items, due to the fact I have to be so careful with what I put on my face.”

By her late teens, the eczema started to die down on its own and Shelley-Marie started dating Dean Williams, 23, who assured her she was wonderful. Dean, as effectively as Shelley-Marie’s family, persuaded the shy blonde to enter the regional beauty pageant last year.

She stated: “I under no circumstances believed I would have the confidence to do a pageant, but I had study that they involved a lot of charity function. I decided that even if I didn’t do properly, it would be excellent to do some thing for charity and it would give me more self-assurance. But in the end I don’t know what created me apply. Something in me just stated ‘give it a go’.

Right after taking element in an interview, Shelley-Marie was told she’d created the final, which took place in February 2014.

She said: “Walking down the catwalk in the final was truly frightening. I suffer from anxiety so it felt like a enormous quantity of pressure, but I knew how proud my household would be.

“When it was time to reveal the winner I started taking my shoes off, realizing I hadn’t won, and then they announced my name and began playing ‘The World’s Greatest’ by R Kelly. You really should have seen my face.

“It was totally mad. I was sitting on a throne with this huge crown on and my family members have been staring at me in amazement. I was really content to have won it. It felt incredible to show the bullies what I could reach, regardless of all their cruelty.”

After getting crowned Miss Black Country, Shelley-Marie went on to compete in the Miss England pageant in Could, finishing in the major 20.

But her skin condition flared up but again, practically stopping her from taking aspect in the competitors, held at Kelham Hall in Nottinghamshire.

She said: “Two weeks before the final, my eczema came back with a vengeance and I developed shingles in my eye socket. I was devastated, but I’d obviously been overdoing it and was feeling the strain.

“I ended up in hospital for four days and the doctors advised me not to do the pageant but I created them give me a steroid cream so I could go ahead with it. I did not want to miss the opportunity. Fortunately my rash had faded when the final came around, but I nonetheless didn’t feel back to complete well being.”

Considering the fact that winning Miss Black Nation, Shelley-Marie has raised about $850 for a neighborhood children’s charity and performs as an ambassador for her neighborhood region.

Although Shelley-Marie nonetheless battles bouts of eczema, becoming a beauty queen has shown her that her situation can not hold her back from attaining her dreams.

“Since undertaking Miss Black Nation, acquiring involved in charity perform and seeing how well I am compared to other individuals, it makes me really feel lucky to even be here. In the future I’d like to go into schools and speak about bullying and self-esteem. I want to urge victims to speak up and not suffer in silence like I did.”

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