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: Talia Joy Castellano
Talia Joy Castellano, 13, was first diagnosed with cancer in 2007. The courageous teen went through many rounds of chemo, which eventually left her bald. Since she disliked wearing wigs, she turned to cosmetics to make herself feel more confident, and about a year and a half ago launched a series of makeup tutorials on YouTube, where she quickly racked up more than 335,000 followers and close to 27 million video ... more
Photo by: Talia Joy Castellano
Talia Joy Castellano, 13, was first diagnosed with cancer in 2007. The courageous teen went through many rounds of chemo, which eventually left her bald. Since she disliked wearing wigs, she turned to cosmetics to make herself feel more confident, and about a year and a half ago launched a series of makeup tutorials on YouTube, where she quickly racked up more than 335,000 followers and close to 27 million video views. In August, she was diagnosed with a second form of cancer and, while she's not sure whether she'll endure treatment, she is determined to live what's left of her life to the fullest. In October, she earned the opportunity of a lifetime: She was chosen to be an honorary Covergirl model. She's still video blogging at Taliajoy.com. less