I’ve always been 100% self conscious of my body. I have been bigger than most everyone else around me for my entire life. Growing up, I was bullied because of this, and I let it affect how I viewed myself even more. During the same time I saw a lot of TV shows that had all these super skinny people and no one was represented that was “bigger”, which just added to the insecurity. I also tend to surround myself with really freaking beautiful women, and rather than admitting that I may be just as beautiful, I feel less than and often would compare my looks to theirs.

    Starting in High School I saw commercials released that had messages like “all bodies are beautiful”. More recently, in college I have seen things everywhere that not only feature plus size women but also men. It was so cool seeing that, it’s really boosted my confidence and I feel like I’m more comfortable with my body because of it. That's only been for around a year and a half, and saying I am a completely different person wouldn't be true. I think that personally I’m always gonna have weak spots where I am super self conscious, but I feel like for the most part I love my body more. It’s mine, I can’t really change that… and I don't want to.

    Screw other people and their ideas on what they think of you. What you think of yourself should be positive, and every body is beautiful. It’s not your body that makes you beautiful, it’s what’s on the inside, so focus on that. If you work on what’s on the inside, people won’t care about what you look like on the outside.