This 13-year-old just did the bravest thing ever. Or shall I say, two bravest things… Paris Harvey not only hit back at her bullies but she did so by facing her biggest fear – stripping down to her bathing suit in public.

The Kent-based teenager suffers from a metabolic condition, which means she gains weight quickly and struggles to lose it. She was also born with hip dysplasia, so her left leg is 1.5 cm shorter than her right and she has pins in her joint which cause her to limp. These two conditions lead to people calling her fat and mocking her for ‘walking like a penguin’.

“I got bullied in the past and after a while, you start to believe what people say. I became really insecure about how I looked,” said Paris. “I can be eating the same food as the next person but I gain weight. It’s not like I’m sitting at home all day eating crisps. But I felt like I shouldn’t have to explain myself.” So, over Bank Holiday weekend, Paris decided to finally face her biggest fear – stripping down to her bathing suit at the beach. And guess what? She not only faced her fear but she embraced it too by taking pictures and posting them on Twitter! The pics went viral with over 337k likes on Twitter. Even though Paris did receive negative comments from people saying she was ‘promoting obesity’, she chose to “focus on the support because hate is nothing compared to love.” “I feel like we should embrace who we are,” Paris said. “I’m not making myself a model but I wanted to show people that it doesn’t matter what size you are – you are born into that body.”

More info: Twitter (h/t)

Paris Harvey suffers from a metabolic condition and was also born with hip dysplasia, which causes her to limp

Because of Paris’ two conditions, people bully her by calling her fat and mocking her for ‘walking like a penguin’

“I can be eating the same food as the next person but I gain weight,” Paris said

 “But I felt like I shouldn’t have to explain myself”

So, over Bank Holiday weekend, Paris decided to finally hit back at bullies by posting pics of herself at the beach – which went viral with all kinds of mixed comments

Some people were inspired

Others were negative

Some even started debating with the negative commenters

But in the end, Paris chose to “focus on the support because hate is nothing compared to love”

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