Liz showed up to the shoot as a ball of nervous energy wearing literal rose-coloured glasses. She's blunt, candid and very honest, all of which seemed to play into why she was interested in taking part in the project. She has Neurofirbromatosis, NF1 to be more specific. It runs beyond the skin, but that's where it manifests in a public way. It's a genetic condition (which she gave a nod to her mother for)  that causes non-cancerous tumors to form in the body, generally around the nerves themselves. There is a long list of what can come alongside the obvious physical symptoms; potential eyesight issues, scoliosis, neuropathy, even so far as an increased chance for learning disabilities and conditions like ADHD.

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In a very matter of fact manner, Liz refers to the extra tissue by a number of names; her "neck thing", "lump of flesh" or just simply "meat". Though the last one she may use just to tease her roommate. It became pretty clear that her relationship with her NF growth is one of tolerance for the most part but occasionally it will dip into adversarial territory. She went on to tell the story of the development over time. "I was pretty chill with it when it was just my 'birth mark'. As it grew into a mass of flesh, I began to really dislike it. It's itchy, sweaty in between the folds which results in it being stinky, gets in the way of my bra straps, and generally I find it unpleasant to look at". In the beginning it was just a patch of slightly raised coloration and she would joke back in elementary school that had survived an attack from the Fire Nation, referring to Avatar: The Last Airbender, when someone asked about it.

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Final Thoughts:

"Ask away if you're curious! As with anything, just be respectful. I'm always fine with questions about it. However, it DOES make me angry when I get unsolicited "love yourself" advice from strangers. I'm allowed to dislike the tumor!" She railed a little at what she calls 'toxic positivity' as it denies people their genuine feelings at times. But at the end of the day she is happy to discuss her 'meat'.