Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are.
-Kurt Cobain
I am not thin. I am not skinny. I always struggle to fit into my pair of jeans. I don’t have clear skin and I don’t have the PERFECT body. Am I not HUMAN? Every time I watch a beauty pageant or look at a magazine cover, the women portrayed there look flawless. To be a model or a prima ballerina, you need to have the perfect size, height, weight and skin. Anyone who is not size 0 will never be perfect for an on-screen job. They will always have to hide behind the curtains, thanks to the judgmental society that we live in. People who are not skinny will never live a normal life because they will always be teased, bullied or judged and this results in them feeling ashamed of who they are and self-loathing. They are people who’ll never feel confident in a crop top or a bikini. They are the ones who never get the chance to stand on the frontline. They are always shoved at the back where none can really see them. Where they can’t shine.
I AM one of these people. When I look at myself in the mirror, I’m haunted by the way people look at me and I see a girl who can be hopeful and brilliant but is instead ashamed and scared. About a year back I tried to eat healthy and exercise regularly. What I hadn’t realized was that I hated my body so much that I was hardly eating and over-exercising. And I didn’t like the way I felt. What should I do? Should I hide my fat? Who am I answering to? One day, my parents found out about this and they put an end to it. I was angry with them but by then I had lost a lot of weight. I was annoyed with my parents but mostly I was disappointed with myself. When I looked in the mirror I finally realized who I really am. I am a girl who is beautiful, friendly, confident and most of all HAPPY. I should only have to answer to myself. I don’t have to be like someone else when I can be me. The mirror is not my enemy anymore.
I WAS one of those people.
Why do we live in a world where there is so much hatred and discrimination towards those who aren’t the right size? Why don’t we have a miss universe who wears size 10? Is size 12 really the worst thing a human being can be? Why don’t we change?
I dream of a future where we’ll have a size 12 model who won’t be called plus size or obese and a world where everyone recognizes talent more than the level of attractiveness. I dream to see a world where people who are not skinny are also considered as CONFIDENT, STRONG and BEAUTIFUL.
CONTEST ENTRY # 10
Ramya Rajasekaran
FYBFM
JAI HIND COLLEGE
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