Destiny Strickland is an 11 year-old girl who is used to constantly being stared at when she is out in public. Destiny was born with a rare medical condition that causes her to look different, but she has not let this stop her from learning to love herself.

These days, Destiny would like to use her appearance to teach the world one simple lesson: “Different is beautiful.”

After Destiny was born with amniotic band syndrome, her grandmother Lisa Brown wanted to protect her as much as possible. The condition caused Destiny to develop severe facial deformities that have already required 31 surgeries, but worst of all were the rude comments that strangers would make about her when out in public.

“The reactions I got from some people, even adults, it broke my heart,” said Lisa. “If I could have just taken her to an island and kept her away from all of that, I would have.”

Destiny, however, was not having any of this. On the first day of school, the confident little girl walked in without a care in the world, ready to show her classmates her personality.

School officials had actually prepared her classmates ahead of time, so when Destiny walked in, she was met with a major surprise.

“She goes into her desk, and there’s cards from students kindergarten through fifth grade everywhere, welcoming her and saying, ‘I want to be your friend,’” Lisa said. “It was just so awesome.”

Thanks to the support of her friends and family, Destiny has been thriving. She has started her own YouTube channel called “Different Is Beautiful,” where she reminds people that “it does not matter what they look like on the outside.”

Lisa said that she has already learned quite a lot from her granddaughter, and she is now hoping that other parents will encourage their kids to reach out to children who look different from them.

“You can’t assume that your kids know to go offer to be a friend,” Lisa said. “You can’t assume that they’re not scared of somebody different.”

Find out more about this amazing little girl in the video below.