Daryl Lynn O'Connell has posted many pictures of her daughter, Carleigh, on Facebook. But this one has nearly 5,000 shares as of Wednesday afternoon.
When the 14-year-old Wall resident got word from friends at her school that someone spray painted malicious words about her body, she didn't let it beat her down. Rather, Carleigh O'Connell tracked down the graffiti and posed with it.
O'Connell told the website that based on previous comments she has received and the spelling of her first name it was about her.
"I wanted to show whoever decided to write that that I was stronger than that," she told TODAY.com. "It didn't impact me at all. I didn't put my head down, I didn't cry about it. I didn't give the kids the power they wanted."
Carleigh told her mother about the photo she had taken. Her mother, proud of her daughter, posted the picture on Facebook and encouraged people to share it.
"I hope it travels across the country and can help one teenager who is bullied or the victim of hurtful things," Darryl O'Connell wrote on Facebook.
"She (Carleigh) decided that she was going to be proud of her figure. She also told me that she feels complete sympathy for the teenagers across the country who face this every day."
As of Wednesday afternoon, the photo has 61 likes, 4,921 shares and 53 comments.
"Super proud of Carleigh," Betsy Wiley Rushnak writes. "She is an amazing young lady. I read this and tears came."
"What an amazing young woman you have raised," Edna Palmer says in a post. "She is beautiful in every way. Hug her for me."
Both Daryl and Carleigh are overwhelmed by all the positive support, according to a statement released by a spokesperson. But they are happy the photo is spreading around the Internet.
The statement said Carleigh encourages teenagers in similar situations to hers to visit websites like us.reachout.com and about-face.org.
"There are people there for you. You're not alone," she said in the statement.