2012 Year in Review: The Most Inspirational Stories of the Year

Once called "The World's Ugliest Woman," Lizzie Velasquez was born with a medical condition so rare that just two other people in the world are thought to have it: She weighs just 60 pounds and has no adipose tissue, and cannot create muscle, store energy, or gain weight. She inspired women the world over earlier this year when, during an interview with CNN, she said that people "should stop staring and start learning." Since then, she told Yahoo! Shine, she's been flooded with speaking requests and supportive emails. In 2013 she's hoping write her third book (her second, "Be Beautiful, Be You" came out in September), continue her work as a motivational speaker, and meet as many people as possible in 2013.

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Photo by: WBTV
Dawn Loggins was attending a prestigious summer program on scholarship in 2011 when she discovered that her parents -- drug abusers who struggled for years -- had left the state, abandoning her, her brother, and their grandmother. Instead of wallowing or worrying, though, the teen was determined to succeed, in spite of her new homeless status. She got a job doing janitorial work before class, moved into a friend's home, and caught ... more
Photo by: WBTV
Dawn Loggins was attending a prestigious summer program on scholarship in 2011 when she discovered that her parents -- drug abusers who struggled for years -- had left the state, abandoning her, her brother, and their grandmother. Instead of wallowing or worrying, though, the teen was determined to succeed, in spite of her new homeless status. She got a job doing janitorial work before class, moved into a friend's home, and caught up on classes online. In June she graduated from high school -- and got ready to move to Cambridge, to attend Harvard University. "What was I going to do? Cry about it?" she told The Shelby Star newspaper. "I just made a decision that I was not going to end up like my parents." (Read her story: Homeless, Abandoned -- and Heading to Harvard)
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