Harnaam Kaur has decided to embrace being a woman who happens to have a beard and has thrown herself into being an activist.

Harnaam Kaur Owns Her Beard

Kaur, 24, grew up in the U.K. being embarrassed about having a beard and suffered abuse from bullies throughout her schooling years. In retrospect, Kaur sees that not only did she not enjoy her education, but struggled to achieve all that she could have because of the traumatizing effect of bullying.

“I was the ugly duckling in my group of friends,” she told People magazine. “I remember being bullied by many different people in my primary and secondary school period. The bullies made my life a living hell every day. I did not enjoy my education, and I feel that I did not achieve as much as I could of because of all the bullying that I had faced.”

The effects of the bullying eventually led Kaur to contemplate suicide. Going through the process of preparing to end her own life, however, ultimately convinced Kaur not only to live, but to thrive.

“One day I decided to actually go ahead with ending my life. I had the pills there ready. I thought about all the negative energy and strength that it actually takes to want to end your own life,” Kaur said. “I decided to turn all that negative energy into positive energy, and grasp hold of life. I wanted to live a happy life, and I made the decision to keep my beard and accept my body for the way it was formed.”

A photo posted by the official harnaam kaur page (@harnaamkaur) on Mar 7, 2015 at 3:30pm PST

Kaur is now both an anti-bullying and body-confidence activist, who proudly poses with her full beard in myriad Instagram snaps. She hopes that by being open and proud of her facial hair, she can broaden the idea of beauty in society.

“I feel that my appearance empowers and strengthens me to walk into the world, knowing that I stand up for a diverse look in beauty,” she said. “I believe that we cannot label what is perfect in society these days, as people are different from each other. It is beautiful to see people accept who they are regardless of what they look like.”

“I allow myself to buy beautiful dresses, wear makeup and do my nails,” she added. “I am a woman with a beard and I fully celebrate that.”