I have always felt left out because of how I look and who I am. I have always felt like the elephant in the room, literally. I have always been shamed for my size. For the longest time, I cared so much about what I wear and who I wore certain things in front of. I never wanted to wear shirts that would show a lot of my arm, located above my elbow. I wouldn't wear shorts that didn't go to the tip of my knees, at least. I never wore anything remotely tight, where you could see every curve, roll, or imperfection. I was so insecure about myself, and not many of my friends knew.

I was always such a happy person around everyone, it was hard to believe that I was sad.

I was sad because of how others would look at me. I was sad because of how they talked about me behind my back. I was sad because I looked different. I could never understand why I looked different or why everyone looked at me that way, until one day. One day I woke up and I was tired. I was tired of living in a shell and letting other people control my emotions and feelings.

From that day on, I told myself that I'm taking back what's mine — my happiness and freedom.

Everyone drained a lot of my happiness and freedom to wear what I want. It was time for that to change. It started out slowly and began to escalate as time went on. I started finding shorts that were not as long a to what I would usually wear. Once I was happy with that, I found some that showed half of my thigh, along with the rest of my leg. I was happy and now I could focus on my shirts. I started wearing shirts that didn't cover half of my arm. I was beginning to love myself. I started wearing tank tops again, whenever I wanted. I started wearing dresses and leggings. I felt so good about myself. Not a thing that anyone would say could bring me down. I was feeling myself and loving every second of it.

It was one of the best decisions that I have ever made.

Today, I still continue to wear what I want and express myself.

I love my skin and you should too, despite what anyone else has to say. Don't let anyone else but you control your life and your decisions. You are way too good for that. One of the ways that we express ourselves is by what we wear. Don't allow someone to stop you from doing that. God created us all differently. Some of us are bigger than others. Some of us have dimples while others don't. Some of us have freckles while others don't. We are all different and there is nothing wrong with that. We were all created to love not only ourselves but for everyone else.

So embrace that birthmark that you dread so much. Embrace every single curve that you try to hide with oversized clothing. Embrace the person that God created because you are unique. You are amazing. You are loved.