Over the past week especially, 12 year old makeup blogger, Talia Joy Castellano, has been a topic of conversation.

Sure, makeup bloggers are a dime a dozen, but Talia is a little different.  That’s because she has cancer, and as a result, no hair. However, she has a real gift for applying makeup, and  she shares this gift by teaching her fans how to accomplish different looks via her YouTube channel.

She is known for saying “Makeup is my wig,” because she feels that makeup helps her embrace her features where as a wig doesn’t make her feel like herself. I think this is really interesting, because its sort of counterintuitive. However,  I suppose that to her, a wig would be “covering up” what is really happening, where as makeup simply enhances it and highlights her reality for the world to see.

Her beauty, bubbly personality, and refusal to frown is so captivating that I was shocked to find myself well into minute 10 of one of her videos, when my usual attention span is about 45 seconds.  The comments that people leave for her are so positive and uplifting, and her maturity level is through the roof for someone her age.

Unfortunately, Talia has recently been diagnosed with a second form of cancer and now has to make the really hard decision of what to do, given that it is largely untreatable.  It’s amazing how many people she has touched and inspired in her short number of years and  it’s also humbling when you think about your own life, and the trivial things you get upset about or worry about. Rather than dwelling on her misfortune, Talia is using her situation to help inspire others going through the same thing.

I hope that whatever decision she makes, she will be respected, admired, and remembered for her positivity in the face of hardship.