I have always been a bit bigger in weight than my peers. And because I was insecure about it, it led to me being bullied until I was old enough to fight for myself. Being around people that set expectations as to how a person should look and going ahead to enforce those expectations on me was one of the reasons why I had this insecurity about myself. I constantly compared myself to the curvy, skinny girls around me, and when I saw that even if I tried hard enough I would never be the same size as they were, it made my insecurities worse. I dreaded wearing bright colored clothes, skin-tight clothes, and clothes that revealed parts of my body that I deemed "too fat." It even got to the extent where I dreaded going to the beach or being in places where I would have to undress in front of others.

This lasted for a long time, until I was several semesters into settling in college. I began to see big girls like me, girls even bigger than I was walking around confidently in their skin. These girls didn't care what others thought of them and even if people did tell them their opinion, it was shut down immediately it came up. Witnessing things like this started helping me overcome my low self-esteem. I started saying positive self-affirmations and accepting that I was the best person I knew. I also started hanging around people who were non-judgmental and supportive of me.

One major thing that helped me was starting a journey of self-discovery. Knowing more about myself helped me realize that I was way better and stronger than I used to be. I was able to be more comfortable in my skin and be more confident. Realizing that I had to be my own best friend and love myself more also helped me to be more confident with the way I related to the people around me. I was no longer bullied and even if I was, I was not afraid to stand up for myself and show that I was proud of who I was.