It was not until I was given the opportunity to compete in a state pageant that I could finally establish my platform. I was ecstatic because I felt as if I were finally getting somewhere with my advocacy and I could make a change even if it were small. My platform was justified by the story of a woman who had reached out to me through my contestant profile. She had told me that what I was doing was amazing and that, finally, somebody was using publicity to shed some light on MRKH. My heart shattered into pieces when she told me her daughter, who was diagnosed with MRKH, had recently committed suicide because she had nowhere to go and no one to talk to. This is the exact reason I have chosen to promote MRKH as my platform, not only for this pageant, but also for life.

I never want another girl to be so in the dark about this diagnosis that the only way out is to take her own life. I feel as if I was so close to that decision because I was so lost as well, to the point that I thought I would never be able to call myself normal again but when you think about, normal is boring. I’m so incredibly thankful for the Beautiful You MRKH Foundation because they showed me how amazing abnormality can be. I’m different and I love that because now I have a reason to show women why being different is life changing.

Without these anomalies I would be way too normal for my liking. The point of my platform was to prove that medical obstacles could be beautiful. They can produce beautiful strength and confidence that you never knew you had. Although I did not win, I will not stop proving to women that femininity does not come from reproductive ability. It comes from the confidence within you, how you perceive yourself, and who you see when you wake up in the morning and look in the mirror. That perception of you is not something you are born with, but something you create yourself. When I look at myself in the mirror I see a young woman who is happy with her life’s difficulties because if I did not have these then I would not have this determination and if I did not have this determination I would not have had the drive to compete in a competition in which I could make them my purpose.

I owe every bit of my happiness and acceptance to BYMRKH because this foundation has shown me the success I am able to achieve and that there is life beyond the diagnosis. I encourage every woman diagnosed with MRKH to make it her platform and use it to empower anyone they come in contact with. These obstacles are meant to drive us even further in life as opposed to slowing us down. I will not stop until every woman with MRKH is shown the greater good that can come out of it. As you read this I hope you realize that the power to empower is within your capabilities. Be the voice and the inspiration because you can save a life without even knowing.

-Carly