It's what's in the inside that counts

When I was 17 months old (I'm now 21), I suffered from severe 3rd degree (full thickness) burns to my neck and chest from a baby bottle full of boiling hot water. As a result of this, I had to have skin taken from my thighs and grafted onto my neck and chest as well as a blood transfusion.

I spent 1 month in Camperdown Children's Hospital in Sydney.

This was a result of a simple accident. This happened in the days when to clean baby bottles, you scalded them out with hot water.

Over the years I have been constantly bullied and harrassed about my burn all the way through Primary School as well as High School.

During Primary School - I would do absolutely anything to get out of doing the Learn to Swim classes - because I was self concious about my scar. Because of that, I can hardly swim now.

But one day, this was when I was in about Yr 1, my mum sat me down and gave me the greatest words of wisdom I have ever heard.

She said to me, "It's only a scar, it's on the outside. What really matters, and what's more important is what's in the inside. It's who you are, not what you look like"

Well, ever since then, I gradually learnt not to worry about my scar. I learnt to ignore people. I realised that people bullied and teased me because they thought it was cool to do that. They thought that that made them feel bigger and better.

But I knew better.

I learnt that, by helping people, by being nice, by making friends, by being honest and learning that "It's what's in the inside" that really counts. That I'd be bigger and better in the ways that are more important.

In all honesty I wouldn't be who I am today if it wasn't for those bullies and for what my mum said to me. Today, I love my life. I try to live life to the absolute fullest. I love helping people. I regularly donate blood - because someone donated the blood that I received when I was child. I'm confident and I don't care anymore. I don't care if people don't like the way I look - that's there problem, not mine.

So, from experience, I can truly say that yes it is what's in the inside that counts.