Hayley Marrs lives in Brisbane, Australia and was born with NF1. In Hayley’s words: “I did not let NF take over and win, I will not let it stop me from achieving my goals. I have had many challenges in my education, public life and my health. To sometimes face the public is difficult and this won’t ever change. I just learn to get through it and move on; it’s a really hard thing to do. Yet, I go through those times when it’s hard to handle, the struggle is hard, and only another person with NF would understand. People continue to stare and sometimes ask questions and I answer them to the best of my ability, but it’s a very shy and personal matter. The truth is many people only see the outside but if they should take the time to find the key and unlock my world there’s always something amazing to learn about me. Photography is my way to express how I see the world.”

Hayley just graduated in December 2014 from with a Certificate 3 of Photo Imagery and is close to receiving her diploma from a school in Australia. This has been a huge achievement for her as her education hasn’t always been an easy avenue to navigate as she often had to attend educational support service classes in conjunction with her course classes in order to be able to learn the material and pass.