Every week day I drive an hour to college, I walk to my class through the crowds of other college students. And although I always tell myself to cut it out, there's a little spot in the back of my head that always asks if other people are looking at me and judging my body. I'm a 19 year old college student, I live with my longterm boyfriend, I plan to spend the rest of my life with him, and yet I still worry about what people think of me? Thats a little ridiculous; but in all honesty, society has pushed that thought into every woman's head in our world.

I am tall and built pretty significantly, like most of my family. I am in no way over weight, yet I am uncomfortable with the way my body looks when I see it in a mirror. I have natural, bright blonde hair and blue eyes; this has come with my german and nordic heritage that I am very proud of. I don't view myself as anything special, I am average. So why do am I still told that I need to be stick thin with big breasts and a nice ass? Because that's what the biggest faces in our society look like. But the reality is that those celebrities we tell our children, or just the generations following us, to look up to aren't as perfect as we think they are. But even though that is the case, we still feel bad about ourselves for not looking like them.

Body shaming is something that is very prominent into today's culture, although we love to brush it under the rug and just call people insecure. And women aren't the only ones who have to deal with body shaming, men deal with it too! That's right ladies, when you go out to a party with your girlfriends and you all stand in your pack and laugh at the chubby guy with pimples on his face and how he is dancing, you are shaming his body for your own enjoyment.

Making fun of someones body isn't the only way to body shame them though. When our schools tell us (women mainly) that we can't wear something because it might "distract" male students, then they are SHAMING our bodies. Why on earth should wearing a tank top and showing your shoulders be considered "slutty" or "distracting"? Telling women what to wear, whether its in a school or not, is basically like going back in time a hundred years to where women hardly had any rights.

So, what's the solution? How about we start taking our bodies back. Just because you are overweight or have an odd birthmark in an odd place, doesn't mean you have to cover up your body. For so long we have seen models and actresses and singers that are tall and thin with shiny hair and flawless skin; and now we have an image in our heads that portrays the "perfect" woman. It's 2016, that body type is almost unimaginable and we think less of ourselves when we can't achieve our "goal body". Here's the thing: those of us who may want to change our bodies are busy being teenagers or 20 something college students! When are we supposed to make time to go to the gym every day and work out but also have a full time job and go to school full time? The answer is simple; we won't ever find that time.

So, like I said, let's take our bodies back! Stop being ashamed of the way you look just because you think your favorite jeans are starting to make your hips look wider. Embrace all the flaws on your body because, like it or not, you were made that way by God and you are absolutely beautiful. Shame on us for forgetting to tell ourselves that we're beautiful just the way we are, but also shame on the world for telling us we have to be anything different then what we are. Wear the clothes you want to wear and eat the food you want to eat; and when someone looks at you funny, simply hold your head high and smile because you are gorgeous just the way you are!