The elephant in the room. The one thing people never want to discuss. People avoid making comments about it for fear of offending someone. What is this, you ask? The answer is weight.

Growing up, I never met a girl that liked talking about her weight. Quite honestly, I did not meet many guys either that liked talking about it. I personally never liked talking about my weight for quite awhile too. It felt as if it was no one else's business knowing how much I weighed. It was something I had to keep private, or hidden, from everyone else. It was a secret. But why? Why did it have to be something I kept to myself? Why is it something that most people feel embarrassed to speak about unless they think they're "stick thin"? Maybe because of the pressure put on us by society to be slim. Or maybe it is this lie that has been circulated so frequently that a higher weight number is equivalent to being, what some people believe is, being "overweight". We put so much pressure and emphasis on weight as factor of how "beautiful" or "attractive" we are.

But here is the thing, I am not ashamed to say that I weigh 162 pounds even though I am only 5'3". I do not have what is considered to be a "Summer Bod" but I have an athlete bod and I am proud of it. I can run for miles on end and squat and lift large amounts of weight. My body is incredibly strong and healthy. Muscles weigh more than fat does anyways so I should be proud of my body. The same goes for any athlete who worries about how much they weigh. We are so incredibly strong and built, there is no shame in that. If anything, we should be proud of how much we weigh, it is muscle gain. Our bodies are fit and in-shaoe and we can work out for days. Weight is only but a number.

Everyone has different body shapes. While I am more short and compact, my cousin is almost 6'4" and weighs about the same as me. He is very tall and lean but yet, he looks perfectly normal. I have a friend that is almost 6' and she always worries about her weight. Sometimes she compares herself to how much I weigh. But the thing is, she has seven extra inches on me. There is nothing wrong with her weighing more than me. She is beautiful and strong and a multi-sport athlete. If anything, I am jealous of her. I have a friend that is about my height but is less than 120 pounds. She has very lean muscle mass but is still very strong despite her small frame. I have a friend that weighs more than me but is shorter than me. And you know what? They are one of the strongest people I know. You would probably think that they weigh less than I do. Weight is only but a number.

Even more so, beauty is much more than what the world can see with their eyes. Your weight and physical appearance is only a small part of who you are. As cliche as the saying is "it's what's on the inside that counts". Weight does not measure your passion, your love, your work ethic, your optimism, your intelligence or your talents. There is so much more to you than how much you weigh. Weight is only but a number.

We all come in all different shapes and sizes and not one is better than the other. We are like snowflakes, not one of us is exactly like any other. We are all beautiful and wonderful and we need to embrace this. We need to be proud of what we look like and who we are instead of wishing to look like someone else. We are perfect just the way we are.

Remember: Weight is only but a number.