Trigger Warning: bulimia
Hello Everyone! I’m sorry to say but I won’t give out my real name. But I will tell you that I am 16 years of age.
Before I start on my story, I must apologize for the crappy webcam quality. I couldn’t find my camera and till this day it’s still lost so…here goes.
See the picture on the left? It’s me. You can see that there’s a flat stomach and a little tone going on there. I like that part. See the picture of the right? That’s me again, except I’m closer to the camera. Due to the horrible quality, I’m not sure if you can see but I do. I have a hairy stomach.
I know, I know. Why would someone hate their body because of a hairy stomach?
Well, I was fine with it until society told me that that wasn’t pretty. Before I wore bikinis and thought I was beautiful and I knew that I was happy with everything about me. Unfortunately, when I made new friends when I was 13 and invited them to my pool and when they saw I had a hairy stomach, they yelled out “Eww, why don’t you shave it off? That’s disgusting”.
That was the first time I have ever thought that my stomach, which I believed was perfectly fine, was not beautiful. I’m tall and skinny and I’ve received many compliments about my look and how much they wished they had my body, and from that day on I realized that that wasn’t beautiful.
I struggled since that day and even thought that I was becoming fat because I would pay more attention to my shirts if they would accidentally go up and would worry if people would see my hairy stomach or even a lump of fat. That’s when I started forcing myself to throw-up and thought that that was the only way to become skinner.
Hahah, I remember only drinking Capri sun and eating those granola bars to lose weight- but all of that still didn’t solve my problem about having a hairy stomach.
I’ve told my mom about it and my sister and they said that I should just shave it off. But shaving brings back the hair and makes it even thicker. I didn’t want to do that.
I thought, maybe I should pay for laser treatment. That’ll solve the problem. But for a 14 year old to do something like that almost made my mom want to die. But that was 2 years ago.
Until recently, I went to my English teacher for help on day on my essay. We were in the deans office where other high school kids would stay until their class had begun. A freshman was sitting next to him and said, “Mister, you have white hair!”
My English teacher said, “Yes, I do.”
The freshman went on about how young he looked and that he shouldn’t have grey hair at this age. My teacher said in the proudest, most confident voice, “Look, I’ve accepted what has happened to me. Although I didn’t wish for this to happen, it did and there’s nothing I can do about it except accept what changes are happening to me and deal with it”.
For a teenager to hear that made me think about my own problem, about what I’m going through and how I should accept this. Although it’s not common (or maybe it is, I don’t talk about it to other people) I should just accept and love myself even though I have hair in an unusual place for a girl. I have this body that I used to love, why can’t I love it now?
I want to show off my stomach. I want to know that whenever I go to the beach, I shouldn’t have to always hide. Who cares? If I don’t, then you shouldn’t because I’ve accepted this fact and there’s nothing I can do about it except love myself!
(possible trigger warning: self harm, bullying)
My name is Morgan and I love myself. I love me inside and out. I am beautiful no matter what society says. They may think I have too many curves, or I weigh too much, or my stretch marks are too large and too dark, but I don’t care. I won’t try to change their mind, because they can be unhappy with my body all they want. I love the way I look. I am perfect just the way I am. I am beautiful! I took 16 years of being bullied about my body and I won’t take it anymore. I’ve harmed myself and scarred my skin with memories that I will never forget, but those scars and those memories; they make me stronger. I am stronger now because of what the bullies did to me. The world needs to watch out, because I’m gonna live my life according to me. I’m not living to make anyone else happy. I’m living for me. That means no more worrying about my weight or about how I look in certain outfits. I’m going to be me, 100% all the time from now on.
BE BRAVE! JOIN THE REVOLUTION!
trigger warning: drug/alcohol abuse
The blonde girl is me. I chose this picture because it’s with a friend who’s been with me through thick and thin. I’ve always had body issues; I can remember family members quietly speaking in the background about the way I ate or the way my mother let me “dress improperly for my size”. From childhood to about my Sophomore year, I was considered overweight; my pants size was an 11, which I was very uncomfortable with. I have naturally red hair; I was always called “ginger” or “fire crotch” and relayed jokes like “gingers have no soul”. I have had acne since I was 12. In middle school, it was hard to love myself for these reasons. I got made fun of for these issues in addition to dressing and acting differently than the rest of my small town peers. I dealt with it the best I could. I tried dieting and it never worked. I washed my face incessantly to no results. I abused drugs and alcohol to deal with my insecurity. Little did I know that I wasn’t done growing and I lost weight naturally at 16. My face cleared up this year. I began to slowly love myself with the aid of my family and friends. I am now at a pants size 7. I love macaroni and cheese but I balance my love of junk food with a good healthy dose of vegetables here and there. I quit using drugs and started going to college. I’m letting my natural hair color grow out. If I have anything to say, it’s this: only you can make yourself happy. There’s always going to be someone who doesn’t like you, always a naysayer. Being a good person makes one feel better than anything else. Being productive, doing what you love, accomplishing things everyone told you you’d fail at are rewarding in so many ways, mainly in self image. Being successful when others tell you you’ll be a loser; feeling pretty when others tell you you’re not. Don’t let anyone be the judge of you. Some advice my mother always gave me: “Rachel, if they weren’t picking on you for your (skin/weight/hair) it’d be your ears.” There will always be mean people. Stick it to them by loving yourself.
celebrityquotesyoullneverforget:
“I enjoy being me; I always have done. I’ve seen people where it rules their lives, you know, who want to be thinner or have bigger boobs, and how it wears them down. And I just don’t want that in my life.”
- Adele
Love yourself for who you are and find people who love you for who you are. Be content in yourself and find the clothes that make you feel beautiful. I spent too much time going to [regular] stores and trying to fit into clothes that just weren’t right for my body and I would just end up disappointed.
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| — | Sarah Slick (via curvyisthenewblack) |
Self-acceptance and happiness are more important than having a flat stomach
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| — | (via your-neon-lights-will-shine) |
