Health, Lifestyle, Misc, School, Writing

Beyond Your Body

Beyond your Body

One of my favorite quotes is a piece of body image wisdom from JK Rowling. She said, “Is ‘fat’ really the worst thing a human being can be? Is ‘fat’ worse than ‘vindictive’, ‘jealous’, ‘shallow’, ‘vain’, ‘boring’, or ‘cruel’? […] I’m not in the business of being judged on my looks…”

Personally, I live with many self-esteem issues. Like any young woman, I worry about my muffin top, my breast size, and my lack of a thigh gap. Honestly, I get kind of obsessed with these feelings. But sometimes I have a moment of clarity when I realize what Rowling said is true. I may feel like I’m fat sometimes, but really there are worse things in the world. I would rather be a little disappointed in my body and happy with my spirit than be physically perfect and inwardly awful. I am not in the business of being judged on my body because I am more than my body. And so are you.

Firstly, I am a part of a family. My family members don’t care about my dress size. They love me because they like who I am and they care about me because of the memories we share. Your family should always love you no matter what other people say about your looks and your role in a family has absolutely nothing to do with the number on the scale.

I am also a student. I work my butt off in school every day to get excellent grades and I would rather be known for my academic performance in class than for my body. Maintaining academic honor status defines me and concerns me far more than my body and frankly, I have no time to be worried about what other people think of me. Focusing on grades is way more admirable than losing 10 lbs. or having perfect skin.

I am beautiful beyond physicality. Aside from my looks, I am beautiful for my mind, my personality, and my love of life. When you look in the mirror, you are only looking at the outward reflection of your inward beauty. The things which really define you are your attitudes towards others, your quirks, and your passions. These things make you beautiful in ways far beyond a flat stomach.

I am a valued human being. My worth inherently comes from my humanity and yours does, too. Everyone in the world – curvy, petite, tall, short, black, brown, and in between – has value because their human lives are sacred, not because of physical perfection. No one has more or less value based on their physicality, so why even worry about it?

I am powerful. Why would I let jiggly thighs hold me back from being amazing? The skin in which you live should not hold you back from your dreams. Embrace your humanity, embrace your identity, embrace your strengths and forget the rest. Like Rowling said, there are far worse things than “fat” and you are in the business of awesome, not being judged.

You may also like

Leave a Reply