Despite being legally blind, this professional makeup artist is inspiring others like her to chase their dreams!
Talya Reynolds was born with two degenerative eye conditions, strabismus and coloboma, that have left her legally blind. But despite her severe visual impairment, Talya has become a professional makeup artist who is using her popular following on social media to stop bullying and spread awareness about self-love. Listen to her story on this episode of "Beating the Odds"!
Video Transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING]
TALYA REYNOLDS: Some of my followers may know me. Some heard of me. If you don't know, now you know. I'm cross-eyed, and I love it.
I have my days where it gets me down. I see a beautiful woman who have perfect eyes, and sometimes I question God, why me? But he told me, daughter, I made you this way because I believe you are stronger and you have much more to offer.
I've gotten threats, jumped just by looking the way that I do. I wish the world was a better place, but it starts with us. Be blessed, and continue to love the picture God painted.
My name is Talya Reynolds. I am a makeup artist. I am funny, outgoing, optimistic, and I have strabismus and coloboma.
When I was nine years old, I was really a girly girl, and I loved, you know, seeing my mom do her makeup. Makeup is about expression. It's about expressing beauty, and it's something that I always found peace in.
I just don't want to be just a makeup artist. I also want to influence other makeup artists and other kids who just want to do their makeup and that feel like I can't do it, that they actually can do anything that they want to do.
Strabismus is when your muscle in your eye is weak, and it doesn't fully develop, which causes the eye to either turn inwards or, in other cases, it could turn outwards. And coloboma is where a normal eye has the iris in the middle. My iris is on the bottom of the eye, which is causing me not to be able to see.
Growing up, I was bullied often in school and outside of school on social media because of the way that I look.
JULIVIA JEAN LOUISE: It was so hard. It was-- it was depressing, like, watching somebody had to get bullied and, you know, people call her names.
TALYA REYNOLDS: I was hurt, honestly. I was-- I was confused. I was depressed. I was really sad. I even had suicidal moments. I felt like nobody liked me, nobody will like me, I don't have a chance to be anybody in life but a disabled kid.
As time went on, I realized that it's not what I want to stand for. I want to embrace the fact that this is how I was born and this is how it's going to be, and I want to show other people that it's OK to be who you are.
KIANA SHADY: What inspires me about Talya is that she's brave. She's extremely confident, and she's been through trials and tribulations in her life that I wouldn't even imagine going through.
TALYA REYNOLDS: You might see somebody, and they might look like they got it all together. But deep down inside, everybody wears a mask, and I finally took my mask off and let them see who Talya Reynolds is.
People with disabilities, we're limited to certain things, but I think I'm not limited. For example, I'm a makeup artist. I'm legally blind, but I still do makeup and still am able to see the things that I really have a hard time seeing. I'm finding ways to beat my disability.
