I figure that I do not speak for myself when I say I spend limited time in front of my full-length mirror. It is not uncommon for your reflection to be your worst enemy. We grew up in a world of super models and plastic surgery. We are part of a world where plus sized models are at the biggest a size 12 and the masses associate any type of body quirk with ‘ugly’.
For me personally, I hate my body because I am fat. I started shopping in the women’s section at 16-years-old becuase the Juniors section was low cut and fit my chubby frame poorly. I wanted to hide my body, not let every problem area I thought I had fall out. I remember my first break down in a dressing room quite vividly at age 12. I just couldn’t fit into size nine jeans, and I refused to be in double digits.
My mirror plagued my middle school and high school existence. I could never pass it without tugging and pulling at my body, always wishing that I could rip all of the fat off of my body. Being big is all I have ever known. I eventually stopped fighting it and started accepting it. When I started accepting it, I started to own my body. I started dressing in trendy clothes even though they are made for a certain type of body. The weirdest thing is that it felt really, really good.
What I am trying to get at here is the thing that you hate the most about your body does not define you. What you see in the mirror is not what other people might see. You may see 60 pounds you need to lose, while the stranger sitting next to you on the bus may see a beautiful smile and a great taste in fashion.
Everyone has issues with their body. Your friend may be a size four with the seemingly perfect body, but she may thing that you at a size 12 is exactly what she wants to look like. You are only given one body. Do not think of it as a death wish. Instead embrace your curves, your weird feet, your fat thighs or your big forehead. Own it.
Eventually, you are going to have to stop hating yourself and your body. As soon as you start thinking of yourself in the way that other people see you—for the good things that people see in you, you will begin to flourish. Your biggest strife with your body is the last thing from ugly. It is simply what makes you…you.