It is a privilege to see yourself and your identity depicted in mainstream media. I know this, because I never have. I have a facial difference as a result of Crouzon syndrome — a condition that caused my skull to fuse prematurely and that makes me look noticeably different from many others. And if people like me are represented at all, it’s not in a way that is a cause for celebration.

There is immense power in sharing stories and in relating to others with experiences similar to your own. There is comfort in a book’s power to remove you from the isolation that can often accompany a marginalized identity. Everyone deserves to feel like they belong. Reading stories that accurately portray individuals from underrepresented populations helps boost the voices of the marginalized. And given our country's current social and political climate, this is of vital importance.

Apfel’s fashion and modeling career, which began when she was 90 years old, isn’t just inspiring. It also highlights a slow cultural shift favoring inclusivity.

I have never seen someone who looked like me on a mainstream television show. I have never seen someone who looked like me, playing anything but a villain in movies, or in an ad or on a billboard. I am invisible. That is, until I walk down the street. That is, until strangers stare just a little too long and rudely whisper, “look at her eyes.”