Hello,I am Agnes Liong and am 23 years old. I am honored to be able to share my story and inspire others to always love themselves as they are, because everyone is uniquely beautiful in his or her own way. =) Wouldn't the world be boring if everyone was perfect? 

When I was 8, I moved from Indonesia to Germany due to the May 1998 Riot (political) war. This was resulted from race discrimination and I was fortunate enough to be able to escape to Germany. However, when I arrived in Germany, I felt lost and isolated. I was the only Asian girl at my school and every time I walked down the street, I never saw any Asians. I began to wonder if I was a mistake? Why couldn't I have fair skin and blue eyes like all the other people? Due to my skin color, Asian eyes, accent and petite height (German people were very tall), I experienced identity bullying. It affected my physically, emotionally and academically. Everyday I was afraid to go to school and every time we have a group assignment, I was always the last one who got picked. I had no friends, couldn't speak the language and had to become independent at a young age to help support my family in Indonesia. Hence, I knew giving up was not an option. I learned the German language within 5 months, created an German language program for international students at my school and thus succeeded to erase the communication barrier between the different ethnicities. The natives were impressed by the effort and hard work we put in to be able to blend in with them and as a result, we became good friends and together we started a local anti-bullying campaign. 

Right now I am a professional model for 4 years and Miss San Francisco Beauties of The Nation 2013 and Miss Germany International 2014. I would never taught that me, the 'ugly duckling' and 'weird Asian girl', can become a model and let alone win pageants? But I am the living proof that as long as you believe in yourself, work hard and persevere, you will accomplish your dreams with certainty! Never let anyone tell you, you are not good enough, you are not beautiful enough, you can never achieve your aspirations! God gift us all with unique and distinctive talent and beauty to make this world a better place. So, I hope with this story I motivate you to always face every challenge with a smile, because there is a beautiful light waiting for you at the end of the tunnel! <3 

Thank you for reading my story! ^_^

 

Sincerely,

Agnes Liong