There isn’t a moment in our lives that we’re able to live comfortably in our bodies if we listen to society and its beauty standards. We greet each other by saying things like “Did you lose weight? You look so good!” Why is this what we’re always focused on? Weight doesn’t show you what type of person someone is or what they are going through. There’s more to a person than what their body looks like. There isn’t a certain way a body should look; we all look different. We’re supposed to look different. These beauty standards are hurting people and ruining lives.
Over the summer I was working as a cashier at a grocery store. One Tuesday afternoon, an older lady came in and started putting her groceries on my counter. She laughed and told me that she was proud of herself. When I asked why, she replied with “I was having a difficult day and was really craving ice cream. That’s what I came here to buy, but convinced myself that I did not need it, too many calories. At my age I can’t afford to gain weight, it takes too long to lose it. My thighs will thank me.” I really didn’t know how to respond. Then, I started to think about girls my age who would always talk about not being able to eat certain things in fear of gaining weight. I’m not saying we should always eat “junk” food, but why take it away from yourself completely?
While I was driving to work daily, I would turn on the radio and there was a diet commercial that always upset me. The main line and selling point of the commercial was along the lines of having gained “pandemic pounds.” As if the year we all just went through was not difficult enough, these companies are using our bodies against us to sell their product. I hate it. No matter what you are going through or how old you are, all we are told and thinking ofis don’t eat this or that, no carbs, lose weight, etc. I’m so tired of being told how my body should look. I’m tired of watching people not eat something their body is craving in fear that the calories are too high. It wasn’t until I had that conversation with the woman in the grocery store that I realized this way of thinking never leaves you. It isn’t something you only go through when you are at a certain age, it stays with you forever.
Wanting to look a certain way and hating how you look in the mirror is something I can relate to. When I was younger, I was always the “bigger” girl. Looking back, I know I was not unhealthy, but I was labeled because of how my body looked. I did cheerleading and felt like my body was not what it should have been based on others around me. I struggled to see my beauty because I was defining “beautiful” by society’s standards, and I did not fit them. I hated going back to school shopping for new clothes because the clothes never fit me right. I didn’t want to admit the size I was because I thought I should have been smaller. Comments from my childhood like “Are those skinny jeans? Oh…well they are too skinny on you,” will never leave me. Society took away the beauty of childhood because everyone started to enforce these body standards. Going into college everyone was afraid of gaining the freshman 15. Why? We are entering a new part of our lives and all we can focus on is our weight. We need to learn to take care of our bodies and value them. We only get one.
I will admit, I still don’t always like what I see in the mirror, but I have to remind myself that my body is valuable, and I need to take care of it. Our bodies grow throughout our lives and are always changing. It is supposed to be like that. If these beauty standards cannot accept that, the standards need to be thrown away. There is so much beauty in all of us and it goes so much further than our bodies.
“Junk food” isn’t always bad for you, just like how “healthy food” isn’t always good for you. If you tell yourself now, as a college student, that you cannot eat “junk” because you might gain weight, and the older woman said the same thing, when do we allow ourselves to eat what we really want to? When are we allowed to stop thinking about the calories and just enjoy our food? Why is what our bodies crave a bad thing? When can we start enjoying food without labeling it as junk, healthy, unhealthy, etc.? Why can’t food just be food?We aren’t here for a long time, and after these past years, it’s clear that we really don’t know what’s going to happen. So please, with the time that you have, don’t spend time thinking about losing weight because society says you must be skinny. Don’t miss out on going to dinner with your friends. After a hard day, treat yourself to what you’re craving. You’re your body, stop following these crazy diets that make you give up what you want to eat. Live your life and love your body, embrace who you are. Throw out the beauty standards.