Living in the United States as a young woman can have many downsides to it. Not only does the occasional middle aged man hit on you, but society has unrealistic standards you're almost forced to abide by. Social media allows celebrities to post Photoshop-heavy pictures to mirror a body they do not have. Millions of comments flood in, saying "goals" or "I wish I looked like you." However, why do we wish for such things?
As an eighteen year old girl who is 5'2" and 115 from an overactive thyroid, I have heard every insult in the book towards skinnier bodies. "You need to eat a hamburger" and "you have no meat on your bones," have been repeated to me since I was a little girl. Not to mention the one time a random elderly man told me I was so small I could fit in his pocket... yikes.
Not only do these comments affect me mentally, they also affect my physical view on my body. After finding a medicine to help balance out my thyroid, I gained over fifteen pounds. Because of these outrageously rude comments, I didn't see a change in my body. I didn't see the weight gained in my face, in my hips, I just saw someone with stick legs. I explained my concerns to my friend, who rolled her eyes and said, "I wish I had that problem."
I get that phrase a lot, "I wish I had that problem," when I explain my trouble gaining weight. Because of my overactive thyroid, my metabolism works faster than most. I could eat every single cookie from a Chips Ahoy pack and not gain anything, while many of my friends complain that only one cookie makes them gain a pound or two. I've realized very quickly that although people say the above phrase, they never really mean it. Humans, naturally, have the desire to want more. However, if they had my problem (and vice versa), they would have the same complaints as me.
This being said, I want to explain why I am writing this article. This isn't a pity plea, this isn't to say skinny people have it worse than thicker people (they definitely do not). It's to show that the body that you're given is perfectly okay as it is. The Instagram model you see and compare yourself to is more than likely as insecure as you are. You are beautiful (or handsome) in every way possible.
You do not need to go to the gym every single day for three hours trying to lose weight, you do not need to cut your meals to where you only eat once a day, and you do not need to try to binge eat in order to gain weight. Your body is like a flower -- water it with love, and it will be in full bloom.
