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Every since I can remember, I wanted to be skinny.
From the moment that I first realized that I wasn’t the same size as the girls around me, I became obsessed with comparing my body to others. I recognize now that doing this is not healthy, but I just couldn’t help myself.
I wanted so badly to have a flat stomach, thin thighs and a skinny face. I wanted to wear anything below a size 4. I wanted to be perfect.
But let’s be honest, who’s actually perfect? That’s right….no one. Modern society and the media have glorified this image of what girls need to look like in order to be happy and to be accepted in America, and it’s just ridiculous.
So what if you don’t wear a size 0? So what if you don’t have abs? So what if you’re not “perfect”?
None of that matters. And there is no “perfect” person or “perfect” body.
All that matters is that you’re the perfect you, and that you’re happy with yourself and who you are.
And there’s no sense in comparing yourself to others, because that’s just counterproductive. If you’re not happy with your weight or the way that you look, you can do something to change it. But you shouldn’t do it for anyone else or to look like anyone else….you should do it for yourself.
I’ll admit, that’s my other downfall. In the midst of comparing myself and my body to other girls, I found myself longing for attention from guys my age.
In my 19 years of life, I’ve never had a boyfriend. I’ve actually never even been on a date.
And in middle school and high school, I blamed this on my weight. I figured no guy would be interested in me because I was overweight and unhappy with myself. So I did something about it, in the hopes that losing weight would not only help me find happiness with myself, but also make me more attractive to guys my age.
I may have lost 45 pounds, but it didn’t change a thing. Guys still weren’t interested in me, and while I was significantly happier than before, I wasn’t as happy as I could be.
Again, I attributed this all to my weight. And I’ve spent the last two years of my life thinking that no one will be interested in dating me until I lost even more weight.
But now that I’m finally doing something about losing that last little bit of weight, I realize that this isn’t the case at all.
No guy is going to be interested in me until I’m confident, comfortable and happy with myself. And I can’t lose weight to make anyone else happy…I have to lose weight to make MYSELF happy.
So that’s exactly what I’m doing. I’m no longer concerned about appealing to guys my age by losing weight, because that will all fall into place when the time is right. I’m just concerned about finding that inner peace with myself and my body, and I’m well on my way to doing so.
I’m 12 pounds lighter, and the skinniest that I’ve ever been in my entire life. I’ve never felt better. And now that I’m losing weight for myself, I’m prouder of the results that I’m seeing and I’m so motivated and exciting to keep it going.
For those of you out there looking to lose some weight or currently on your own weight-loss journey, I encourage you to do it for yourself, too! Don’t do it for your significant other, your friends or your family. Do this one thing for yourself – to find a healthier, happier you.