Sometimes the old adage, "big things really do come in small packages," is truer than true.
Case in point: these brave and inspirational children.
In a recent collaboration, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) and photographer Kate T. Parker came together to capture a powerful photo series that encourages children who've suffered and endured serious sicknesses and injuries to embrace their battle scars!
"For kids who have battled illness or injury, scars are badges of honor, signs of survival, fodder for the ultimate round of show and tell at school,” says a post on the CHOA blog.
Parker, who proudly photographed former CHOA patients, told The Huffington Post that she was highly inspired by the subjects of the collection. "These kids have been dealt, by all accounts, a pretty tough hand. Illnesses, injury, etc … and not a single one of them let it keep them down."
Everyone has a "badge of honor"--or a scar, if you will. Not all scares are physical or visible, but we should always be proud to display our badges of honor.
"Some of our ‘scars’ are invisible,” claims Parker. "They might be mistakes we’ve made, or things about ourselves that we wish to hide.”
"My hope is that people can recognize their own ‘scars’ and instead of seeing them as flaws or mistakes or things to conceal, we recognize that those ‘scars’ are exactly what make us US,” explains Parker. "And what makes us beautiful and strong.”
Take the time to check out these brave children as they proudly flaunt their scars and "badges of honor" in Parker's stunning collection!
