<div><p>In spite of living where the sun is always shining, Ashley Soto would be seen wearing jeans and long-sleeve t-shirts throughout her teenage years. She cancelled trips to the beach, and even had trouble looking people in the eye. </p><p>But now at 21 years old, she has a completely different outlook of herself and her appearance. </p><p>After creating an Instagram account to show off her impressive makeup skills, she then decided to reveal what she had been hiding under sweaters and pants all these years. </p><p>"I told myself I didn't have to meet society's standards to be beautiful and unique. I started challenging myself with doing things that I wouldn't do, for example: going out without a sweater or wearing shorts. I let all those negative thoughts go and just started looking at life with a positive outlook," <a href="http://aplus.com/a/ash-soto-vitiligo-body-positivity-instagram">she said</a>. </p><div><figure><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/0-caters-young-woman-with-vitiligo-hits-back-with-racy-snaps-07-1489556323.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/0-caters-young-woman-with-vitiligo-hits-back-with-racy-snaps-07-1489556323_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/0-caters-young-woman-with-vitiligo-hits-back-with-racy-snaps-07-1489556323_GH_content_650px.jpg 650w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/0-caters-young-woman-with-vitiligo-hits-back-with-racy-snaps-07-1489556323_GH_content_750px.jpg 750w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite>Instagram</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p>When Ashley Soto was just 12 years old, she noticed a small spot appear on her neck. Within a year, patches appeared in other areas, eventually covering 75% of her body. </p><p><!-- [invalid-shortcode] --></p><p>She was diagnosed with the skin condition, Vitiligo. <a href="https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/color-problems/vitiligo">Vitiligo</a> occurs when cells stop producing pigment and cause patches that resemble sun spots. </p><div><amp-instagram height="1" width="1" layout="responsive" data-captioned="" data-shortcode="BNMdh--Bsax"></amp-instagram></div><p>"I didn't know how to react because I had no knowledge on what vitiligo was or what would happen to me," <a href="http://aplus.com/a/ash-soto-vitiligo-body-positivity-instagram">Soto told A Plus</a>. "I remember my mom sitting there crying and I just sat there confused and scared. I didn't know how much my life would change from that moment on."</p><p><!-- [invalid-shortcode] --></p><p>Before her diagnosis, she was a cheerleader and <a href="http://aplus.com/a/ash-soto-vitiligo-body-positivity-instagram">loved going to the beach in her Florida hometown</a>. As vitiligo continued to spread, she started to feel self-conscious about her body. </p><p>"I've been called a cow, I even was once told I had Michael Jackson syndrome. How can an innocent girl trying to find herself take that?" <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BNMdh--Bsax/?taken-by=radiantbambi&hl=en">she wrote in an Instagram post</a>. </p><p>She now has turned the patches she was once ashamed of showing into beautiful works of art.</p><div><figure><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/1-caters-vitiligo-girl-celebrates-her-skin-condition-with-art-pieces-02-1489556428.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/1-caters-vitiligo-girl-celebrates-her-skin-condition-with-art-pieces-02-1489556428_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/1-caters-vitiligo-girl-celebrates-her-skin-condition-with-art-pieces-02-1489556428_GH_content_650px.jpg 650w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/1-caters-vitiligo-girl-celebrates-her-skin-condition-with-art-pieces-02-1489556428_GH_content_750px.jpg 750w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite>Instagram</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p><!-- [invalid-shortcode] --></p><p>"They say your body is a canvas, I'm just painted differently," <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BGF5Ev6FRMr/?taken-by=radiantbambi&hl=en">she writes</a>. </p><div><figure><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/5-caters-vitiligo-girl-celebrates-her-skin-condition-with-art-pieces-17-1489556523.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/5-caters-vitiligo-girl-celebrates-her-skin-condition-with-art-pieces-17-1489556523_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/5-caters-vitiligo-girl-celebrates-her-skin-condition-with-art-pieces-17-1489556523_GH_content_650px.jpg 650w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/5-caters-vitiligo-girl-celebrates-her-skin-condition-with-art-pieces-17-1489556523_GH_content_750px.jpg 750w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite>Instagram</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p>"It's like having natural tie-dye," <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BLC6ZUihqcj/?hl=en">she posts on Instagram. </a></p><p><!-- [invalid-shortcode] --></p><p>She has taken her body painting to the next level when she recreated Van Gogh's The Starry Night. </p><div><figure><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/ad_238312577.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/ad_238312577_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/ad_238312577_GH_content_650px.jpg 650w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/ad_238312577_GH_content_750px.jpg 750w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/ad_238312577_GH_content_850px.jpg 850w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/ad_238312577_GH_content_950px.jpg 950w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/ad_238312577_GH_content_1050px.jpg 1050w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/ad_238312577_GH_content_1150px.jpg 1150w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/ad_238312577_GH_content_1250px.jpg 1250w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/ad_238312577_GH_content_1350px.jpg 1350w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/ad_238312577_GH_content_1450px.jpg 1450w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/ad_238312577_GH_content_1550px.jpg 1550w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/ad_238312577_GH_content_1630px.jpg 1630w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite>Instagram</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p>"˜I never realized how beautiful my vitiligo was until I traced it with a black marker,' she said. "˜It really helps to bring out the different colors of my skin," <a href="http://metro.co.uk/2017/03/15/this-woman-learned-to-love-her-vitiligo-by-turning-her-patches-into-art-6510887/">she said</a>. </p><p>Each design takes her hours to paint as she outlines each patch on her skin. </p><div><figure><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/4-caters-vitiligo-girl-celebrates-her-skin-condition-with-art-pieces-05-1489556455.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/4-caters-vitiligo-girl-celebrates-her-skin-condition-with-art-pieces-05-1489556455_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/4-caters-vitiligo-girl-celebrates-her-skin-condition-with-art-pieces-05-1489556455_GH_content_650px.jpg 650w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/4-caters-vitiligo-girl-celebrates-her-skin-condition-with-art-pieces-05-1489556455_GH_content_750px.jpg 750w" sizes="89vw" title="" alt="" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite>Instagram</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p><!-- [invalid-shortcode] --></p><p>"When life gives you lemons, what do you do? Make the best of it. No, I wasn't born with, I grew into it which was the hardest thing I've ever been through. But now I look back and I'm happy that I went through it because I wouldn't be as strong as I am today," <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BNMdh--Bsax/?taken-by=radiantbambi&hl=en">she wrote</a>. </p><p></p></div>