I made this Instagram collage below of Collegefession Tweets two years ago, accompanied by a long rant. As I was scrolling through my profile, I stumbled upon the picture I had once forgotten about. Seeing it sparked the same feelings I had back then when posting it, and is the reason why I'm writing this letter today.

You see, it all started when I was in middle school.

My two best friends and I always sat with a group of boys we were friends with at lunch. My best friends at the time were dating two boys in that group, so it only seemed fitting to sit with them. Lunch time rolled around on a seemingly regular school day. That lunch period, we got on the topic of Winnie the Pooh. Innocent, right? We all discussed which character each person resembles the most. One of the boys in the group turned to me and said, "So you'd be Heffalump, right?" before busting out laughing with the remainder of his friends. For all of you not aware of Pooh Bear and his crew, Heffalump is a big, purple elephant. Tears welled up in my eyes as I dropped my sandwich and quickly left the table—my best friend not standing up for me once.

That was my first encounter with bullying over my weight. That was almost nine years ago. While I'm sure he doesn't remember this incident at all, I still remember it as clear as day. What he didn't see as a big deal is a moment I'll remember for the rest of my life.

While I'm grateful that I wasn't bullied in high school, probably because it was saved for the talking behind my back, that's not the case for most plus-size girls in America, and all over the world.

Yes, it's technically my choice to be fat. Yes, I decide whether to put a donut or a carrot in my mouth. Yes, I decide whether I walk my a** into Planet Fitness or not. My best friend eats candy every day and is still thin. I can eat five M&M's and gain half a pound. My weight has been my enemy my entire life, and I know I need to make a change for myself which is hard enough. I would never wish the struggle I've had with my weight on anyone—believe me. When adding being a young adult and guys into the mix, though, it only gets harder.

See, we girls are raised in a generation that tells us being fat is something to be ashamed of, something to look down upon. If you can't fit into a size 10 or below, you need to change. The people we look up to are skinny, the girls in the ads are skinny, the models on Instagram we scroll passed are all skinny. Skinny isn't bad at all. But when do you see multiple plus-size girls worshiped on the same platform? (Credit to Ashley Graham though. Girl is killin' it!)

While a portion of the criticism we get is over the fact that overweight people are looked at as lazy and unhealthy, it is no surprise that another portion is about how plus-sized people are categorized as less attractive.

Now this letter isn't to pity us fat girls at all, but this is to tell you of the way most of your words and actions can affect us.

I came across the Collegefessions Twitter account a few years ago and thought it was hilarious hearing other people's crazy college experiences, especially since I go to a smaller school. I found them funny, until there were an increasing number of tweets about fat girls, much like the ones above.

It's reading things like this that have made me ashamed to walk my college campus. Are people staring at me? Do girls walk past me and internally thank themselves that their bodies don't look like mine? Do guys walk by me judging me to themselves? I often have felt like I walk around with a huge spotlight on me because I don't wear crop tops or skinny jeans like the girls I pass by. While I could wear those things if I wanted, I think we all know the kind of looks I'd be subjected to. I get a lot of crap for not going out as much as others do at my school, but it's the criticism of people like those mentioned above that makes going out unenjoyable and an anxiety-filled experience.

Reading things like what is pictured above ruined my confidence when it came to dating. I always warned guys I'd talk to on Tinder that I am not an average-sized girl, always making sure to post multiple full body pictures in my profile so I don't "catfish" anyone. When did that become acceptable? Why should I have to warn people or apologize for my body? Why should I be ashamed that I have a larger body type than someone else? It's quite simple, I shouldn't have to.

Now this isn't a jab at all guys, at all. I am truly lucky enough and grateful to have found a guy who loves me for who I am, someone who loves me for my smile, my morals and personality. And guess what? He loves me for my body too. He has shown me that not all guys are the same. So I am fully aware there are great guys out there who don't factor in a girl's size when it comes to befriending her, dating her or even judging her. But the harsh reality is that it isn't always that way.

This is for the douchebags who make nasty comments at fat girls as they walk by. It's for the guys who friend-zone a fat girl because they let their judgments about her be defined by what size she is able to fit her body into. This is for the guys who find it acceptable to say they "give to charity" for f****** a fat girl, like you're doing us some type of favor. This is for all the guys who have small, judgmental minds whose image of beautiful is a size 2 girl in a bikini.

So, let me break it down for you.

The weight that hangs from my body doesn't define who I am as a person. I may not look good in a skin-tight dress silhouetting every fat roll I have, but if one day I want to go out to the club (fat rolls and all) it's MY prerogative to do so. That gives you no right to shout at me, calling me a fat a** or looking me up and down like I'm some animal at the zoo.

I for damn sure do not need your "charity" by you having sex with me, or you giving me the time of day because I'm fat and you feel the need to pity me as if it's a negative thing. I'd rather be alone for the rest of my life, with my dignity still intact, then be given that fake kind of attention because I can't fit into a size six pair of jeans or a small-sized shirt.

The fat that I have does not make me a repulsive person, so stop treating plus-size girls that they are just that. The size of my jeans doesn't define the size of my heart. Get that through your mind.

You say, "Big boobs don't count on a fat girl." That's your opinion, but boobs are boobs and I've never gotten complaints about mine because I have a chubby stomach below them. You're missing out, not us.

While you're lifting your weights at the gym and grunting like an idiot, don't you dare stare at me while I'm working out too. At least I'm doing something to help myself. Fat people belong in gyms too.

It's inevitable that guys at your age, that wonderful young adult segment of your life, are not always going to be nice. It's about having the best moments of your life fueled by the flowing alcohol and parties you go to every night. But, that doesn't give you the right to be a douchebag. It doesn't give you the right to judge a girl of my size. It doesn't give you the right to let my friends go into your frat party and not me. I promise my fat is not a danger to anyone.

No one's asking you to like me, no one's asking you to find me attractive. But think before you make a comment, think before you stare a little too long, think before you lead a girl of my size on just to drop her as the joke she was the entire time to you. The size of our bodies doesn't constitute getting put through that type of ridicule. We don't deserve punishment. Girls of my size have been made to feel like we deserve less love than the girl standing next to us fitting into a size 10. That is complete bullsh**. Take off our clothes, pull back our skin, and we all have one beating heart and one mind. It's thick-headed guys like you who don't seem to get that.

Again, if you don't find my extra chub attractive, good for you. But remember how your obnoxious actions affect girls like myself. It's those actions that lead to girls' depression, sometimes worse enough to take their own life.

If you don't like what you see, don't look and keep walking.

I'm not sorry I am not the size of that bikini model you have hanging up in your dorm room. While she's gorgeous, she's not me, and I am so incredibly proud of the person I am, with extra junk in my trunk or not. Your loss, not ours.

Love,

An unforgiving plus size girl, speaking out for all of us.