Michaela DePrince was born in the midst of a horrific civil war in Sierra Leone, West Africa. Her father was killed by rebels, and shortly after her father’s death, her mother died of fever and starvation.  As if life was not already difficult enough, Michaela has a skin condition which causes patches of her skin to lose its color.  In her village, this was considered the curse of the devil and she was abandoned by her uncle and lived in an orphanage where she was the least favorite child out of 27 kids -- which meant she was the last to eat at every meal.  Fast forward to today, and Michaela is a professional ballerina, competed on Dancing With The Stars, performed in Madonna and Beyonce music videos, and spoke alongside Barack Obama at a leadership conference.  In this episode, Eva shares how this remarkable lady was able to overcome the living nightmare that was her early childhood and fulfill her dream of being a professional ballerina.  Michaela’s story is a powerful reminder that circumstances outside of your control do not define you and to never, ever give up on your dreams.  For our show notes, visit DreamBigPodcast.com/270