I’m a second-semester freshman in college. Throughout most of my life, I was the token “skinny girl.” Before I started high school and began taking birth control, I didn’t have much of a figure. I never took much thought to it until people would start to make comments. Such as, “You need some meat on those bones!” or “You’re way too skinny.” I never really took it personally because I didn’t mind the way I looked. I felt okay with my weight – until I got on birth control and gained some weight in the right places. I then realized, “Wow, I was pretty skinny.” Now, these thoughts were never negative toward myself. I just was going through what essentially every teenage girl goes through. I was just trying to understand different body types and weight fluctuation.
So fast-forward to where I am now, a second-semester freshman in college. I have gained the “Freshman 15” to some degree. I don’t fit in my jeans from my senior year and the dress I wore a year ago is way too tight now. I have gained weight, a common fact of life we all face. Some of us get excited when we gain weight (shout out to the skinny girls). Although, most of us don’t like to see the numbers on the scale go up (shout out to the thick girls).
I’m tackling this common question of what is too skinny vs. what is too fat? I’m not overweight, but I’m definitely not feeling “skinny.” I’ve never weighed as much as I do now. Society tells us that the skinny girl makes it on the runway and magazine covers. Society is still telling us that being heavier is frowned upon. Thankfully, women leaders of today are turning down those standards, which is giving girls a huge boost of confidence. There’s this constant whirlwind of too skinny and too fat. We ask the constant question: what is right and what is wrong?
I think I may have figured it out. It’s the cliché answer, so don’t think you’re getting the golden key to life here. But, it’s a good, real answer. Recently this question of, “am I happy with my weight?” has been popping up in my head. Is the “Freshman 15” good or bad? My answer is maybe it is and maybe it’s not. It’s all about how you feel about yourself and what weight you’re going to feel best at. As long as you love yourself and your body, everything else will fall into place. I’m still trying to figure out where my body image is overall and if I like the weight I have gained. Overall, the important ideals I have started to understand are, love yourself & your body.
Finally, we need to say “screw it” to society’s standards. If you’re “overweight” and are feelin’ yourself then you better put on that dress that makes you feel great and go out Friday night. Don’t let those extra few Starbucks lattes get you down. Also, don’t let society tell you you’re too skinny if that’s just the way your metabolism is working. So, if you are where I am or have been where I am and are still down about it just try to realize that society has no say in how much we love ourselves.