Disney's Frozen was a massive hit that gave us Elsa. With her charming attitude and strong personality, she instantly became a role model for countless girls.
Little Arliyah was born with albinism.
Because of this, she has an absence of pigments in her skin. Her skin is as snowy white as her hair.
Growing up for Arliyah hasn't always been easy.
Her mother Hailey Brown said strangers would approach the pair and grab her daughter's hair: "It's not good for a little girl to think people don't need to have any limits with her. People just walk up to her and grab her – she looks like a doll so people just want to play with her. Because of that, she's got really sensitive about her hair, she doesn't like getting it dirty, won't join in for crazy hair day – she's really protective of it."
The albinism also means Arliyah is partially blind and needs a cane to walk around.
You can imagine what all these differences can do to a little girl's self-esteem. She stayed strong though.
Then one day, another little girl began pointing at Arliyah: "Mummy, that girl over there is Elsa!" Arliyah hadn't seen Frozen yet: She instantly loved it and even told her mother that she was the real-life Elsa! Arliyah started to just "let it go."
Other children have noticed the similarity and the positive attention has given Arliyah confidence. She now dresses up as Elsa any chance she gets.
Arliyah recently welcomed her new baby sister Mackenzie to the family. Her sister also has albinism.
With Queen Arliyah around though, Princess Mackenzie has someone to protect and watch over her—and share that Queen confidence!
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