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Rising above the noise: Learn from Lizzie Velásquez’s masterclass on handling negative feedback

Natasha Tynes
2 min readApr 30, 2023

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Lizzie Velasquez. Photo credit: Michael Buckner

As writers and creators, dealing with negative feedback is a right of passage.

How we handle it, though, is up to us. We can let that crush us or motivate us.

Lizzie Velásquez, who was born with a rare cognitive disease, chose the latter.

When someone posted a YouTube video calling her “the ugliest person in the world,” Velásquez could have retreated from the public eye.

But instead, she used the experience to fuel her passion for advocacy.

Today, Velásquez is an anti-bullying activist who uses her own experiences to educate and inspire others.

She has given multiple TED talks and written books about her life and her message.

Velásquez has created a non-profit organization, the Lizzie Velásquez Foundation, which is dedicated to raising awareness of bullying and promoting kindness and compassion.

Velásquez’s advocacy work has also led to changes in legislation. In 2015, she testified before the US Congress in support of the Safe Schools Improvement Act, which aimed to address bullying and harassment in schools.

‘Lizzie Beautiful‘

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Natasha Tynes
Natasha Tynes

Written by Natasha Tynes

Writer. Journalist. Words in @washingtonpost , @ElleUK , @esquire . I write about: ✍🏼 Writing 📲 Creator economy 🌍 Mideast

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