Born Different is a collection that honours difference — not as a flaw, but as beauty. Each design in this series speaks to a lived experience that’s often misunderstood or unseen.
Some days, it takes everything just to stay. To stay in your body. To stay in the room. To stay in this world. You’ve been called too emotional, too sensitive, too much. But really, you’ve just been carrying too much, for too long. This piece is for the hearts that cracked but kept beating. For the souls that wanted to leave but chose to stay. You don’t need to be unbreakable. You just need to be here. And you are. ------------------------------------------------------------- This piece quietly honours mental health journeys — especially among those born different. Statistics show that being different in a world built for sameness often comes at a mental cost: • 74.5% of LGBTQIA+ Australians have experienced a mental disorder in their lifetime.[¹] • 70% of people with albinism in Brazil report psychosocial issues, including anxiety and depression.[²] • 89.3% of people with Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) experience psychological distress, especially women.[³] • 32.2% of visually impaired individuals report depressive symptoms — compared to 12% in the general population.[⁴] • Deaf and hearing-impaired youth in Australia experience significantly higher rates of clinical-level mental health problems.[⁵] • People with physical disabilities are 2–3 times more likely to experience depression.[⁶] Not because they’re weak — but because society doesn’t always leave space for difference to exist peacefully. You don’t have to justify your pain. You don’t have to explain why it’s hard. You’re still here. And that is a quiet kind of courage.
