Thanks to the rise of social media, we’re all bombarded with images of seemingly perfect-looking people; it seems as though the world has become even more shallow in how people are judged.
For those of us that don’t fit the stereotypical “perfect” mold, the world can seem very cruel, with complete strangers feeling it necessary to criticize someone based on their appearance on social media.
Karine de Souza knows this more than anyone. The Brazilian has spent her life covering her skin in SPF100 sunscreens – even when she’s inside her home – due to her rare skin condition.
The 33-year-old was diagnosed with Xeroderma Pigmentosum when she was three years old which means she is at high risk of skin cancer.
Her ”one-in-a-million” condition, which is incurable, means she is highly sensitive to UV rays as she lacks the ability to repair any damage the sun causes to her skin.
Just a few minutes in the sun can mean incredibly painful sunburn for her. Growing up, she was often isolated from the outside world because it was too dangerous for her to spend too much time outside her house.
“When I expose myself to the sun it doesn’t happen in the moment, I don’t feel anything. However, in the future, the lesions appear and need to be removed because of cancer,” she said.
Karine has had to endure 130 surgical procedures to remove lesions caused by the sun, including the removal of her lower lip and part of her nose.
Sadly, it is not only a physical battle she has to endure. Karine often gets stared at in the street and has been the victim of verbal abuse both within her community and online.
But despite her suffering, she remains upbeat and happy and has even found love.
She met her husband Edmilson through social media, who fell in love with her “story and her strength.” Edmilson has always stood by Karine’s side, and he knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.
He also decided to embrace Karine’s three children from her previous relationship, which of course, meant a lot to Karine.
”He came and he showed me that I could live a true love story”, she says.
But after posting photos of them together online, Karine was once again exposed to a whole host of offensive comments.
”We have already read many offensive comments calling me a monster, deformed, a zombie,” Karine said.
Other comments suggested that their relationship wasn’t genuine and that Karine was a ”sugar mommy,” and that she must be very rich.
”Because of the fact he’s a young man and pretty, that caught people’s attention and they didn’t believe that he was with me because he really liked me,” Karine said.
A photographer who captured the couple after they got engaged posted a selection of the images online and wrote:
”In a world where appearance matters more than the feeling, they met not by chance, but by a gathering of souls, an encounter of acceptance and character and love emerged when their souls met and today you are the inspiration to so many people who do not believe in themselves, in life and especially in love.
“THANK YOU every day for being who you are. STOP complaining for being like you are. HUG LIFE, and accept yourself. Much gratitude for teaching me so much. You guys are AMAZING. You are the missing hope in so many people. Thank you for the big hug, and for the wonderful day we experienced together. I carry your smile with me forever.”
His heartfelt words and beautiful images he captured of Karine and Edmilson went viral, and thousands of people commented, congratulating the couple.
Karine wants others to realize the importance of being positive.
”Be happy, smile, because life happens only once,” she said.
In 2023, Karine and Edmílson welcomed a baby girl into the world, and they couldn’t be happier! Their daughter, Zaia, was long awaited – Karine and her husband had been trying for a baby since 2020.
Karine has been through so much but thanks to her positive attitude she has found the happiness she deserves.
Her story is inspirational so help us inspire others in similar situations by sharing this story with your friends and family.
Earth is getting another moon at the end of this month
When the new moon begins its orbit, life as we know it is going to alter, if not permanently.
At the end of this month, another moon will momentarily arrive on Earth.
Indeed, it may seem completely absurd to write or even mention that our planet will momentarily have a new moon, but it is true.
By the end of this month, a mini-moon—a tiny asteroid—will begin its orbit around the Earth and continue until November 25.
For the next week, the asteroid known as “2024 PT5” will join our moon, which has been orbiting Earth for the past four billion years, on its trip.
“The object that is going to pay us a visit belongs to the Arjuna asteroid belt, a secondary asteroid belt made of space rocks that follow orbits very similar to that of Earth at an average distance to the sun of about 93 million miles [150 million kilometers],” Professor Carlos de la Fuente Marcos said in a statement to Space about it.The population of near-Earth objects that includes comets and asteroids includes those found in the Arjuna asteroid belt.”
Leading the study team is Marcos, who is supported by a group of scientists.
The Arjuna asteroid belt is a varied tangle of space rocks, and because of its near-Earth orbit, it is predicted to round the planet once more in January.
The tiny asteroid will move at 2,200 mph and be only 2.8 million miles from Earth, which may sound like a very long way, but in space it is actually much closer than you might imagine.
The International Space Station orbits the earth at 17,500 miles per hour to put it into perspective.
“Under these circumstances, the object’s geocentric energy may grow negative, and the object may become a temporary moon of Earth,” he said. This particular object will be subjected to this process for around two months, beginning next Monday.
Saying: “It will not follow a full orbit around Earth.”You could argue that items like 2024 PT5 are window shoppers if a genuine satellite is comparable to a consumer making a purchase inside a store.”
So how do we identify it?
Sadly, you can’t, at least not with common household objects like binoculars or a telescope your mother got you.
No, because of its size, 2024 PT5 is far more difficult to see.
Marcos went on, “Most amateur telescopes and binoculars cannot resolve the object because it is too small and dim.” But the object is well inside the brightness range of the average telescope that is used by astronomers in their profession.”A 30-inch telescope with a human eye behind it will not be sufficient to examine this object; a telescope with a minimum diameter of 30 inches and a CCD or CMOS detector are required.”
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