Wichita, Kansas - Jessy Kirkpatrick has spent more than $12,000 on a variety of body modifications and tattoos. Now, they have hit back at the haters who call them "ugly" and "a freak."

With a stretched septum, nostrils, tongue, and lip, horn implants, and an assortment of lip piercings, Kirkpatrick certainly stands out when they walk the streets of Wichita, Kansas.

It's a difference that doesn't go unnoticed and, despite their thick skin, the non-binary 27-year-old couldn't help but express anger towards those who hurled abuse their way.

"People say I will go to hell for how I love," they said in an interview with Caters News Agency reported on by the New York Post. "And [they] go on and about how I've ruined my body – claiming that I look ugly, that I'm a freak."

While a constant barrage of sideways glances and judgmental words inevitably flows their way, Kirkpatrick has "learned to live" with the constant worry and feeling of standing out.

Speaking to the Daily Star, Kirkpatrick provided some advice for prospective body mod fans, telling them to "Stop sitting there and letting others dictate what you can be and what you should feel on the inside."

"Don't let others rule your feelings and self-worth and don’t let family members give you an ultimatum because they’re too narrow-minded to see how happy it makes you."

Though their mom is now supportive, it wasn't always smooth sailing. She's a conservative Christian and didn't really get the desire her child had to change their body.

"Although she doesn't understand what I am doing and she is cautious of some extreme things that I do," Kirkpatrick said of their mom. "She loves me no matter what and she is always proud of me."