When Lola Marie was just 8-year-old she launched her very own nail polish line, Lola Marie Polish. She did this because she wanted to bring joy into her life.

Born with spina bifida, (a birth defect that occurs when the spine and spinal cord don’t form properly), Lola is in a wheelchair. Sadly, this caused her to be bullied by others at her school.

Students would call her names like ‘wheelchair girl’; one student even took off her shoe, threw it and told her to ‘go and get it’. This caused Lola’s mental health to spiral, so her mother moved her to another school and got her to see a therapist. She was later diagnosed with PTSD, depression and anxiety.

Despite the diagnosis, Lola’s therapist asked her, “What makes you happy?”

Lola responded, “Riding horses and getting my nails done.”

Due to being in a pandemic, Lola couldn’t do those things. However, she thought of an idea.

“I like doing my nails (because) it makes me feel happy. So one day, I asked my mom, ‘Can I make nail polishes?’ and she said yes. So we started to look up how to make nail polish,” Lola said. “I wanted to make everybody else feel happy like I was happy when I was getting my nails done.”

Lola Mare Polish currently has over 40 polish colours and they all have empowering and positive names. Lola wanted all of the bottles to have a crown head so people felt like royalty when using them.

Speaking to People, Lola’s mother Nickell Thomas said: “She became so focused and driven. Even now, she still struggles with anxiety and depression, but when she gets into her nail polish making, it’s like the world doesn’t exist around her. She’s in this happiness.”

Lola donates 20% of her proceeds each month to the Casey Cares Foundation, which is a nonprofit that helps critically ill children and their families.

You can purchase Lola Marie Polish on her website or from Walmart.com.