As I sat in my fifth grade classroom, my classmates questioned, “Why are you so skinny?” or “Ewww! I can see your ribs.” At even a young age, classmates were questioning and pointing out details about me that they thought were wrong. Self-confidence is something most people struggle with at some point in their lives, and my self-confidence is hindered by what people think about my weight, which began early in my life. I am not insecure about how much weight I would have to lose or gain to have the “perfect body,” but I am afraid people judge me. I am thin, and people incorrectly think I have an eating disorder or that I don’t eat enough daily.

In junior high I would go home crying because people thought I was anorexic. Having people think this about me really upset me, and I began losing the self-confidence that is already hard to try to build in junior high. On top of being questioned by students at school, adults like coaches, family, and parents of close friends, make judgmental comments: “You look like a Holocaust victim.” I asked my coaches if I could eat a pop tart and their response was accusatory: “Oh, Honey, eat whenever you want. We know you don’t eat a lot, so whenever you want anything, just let us know. We can even bring you food if you don’t have enough.”

I reply, “I’m fine. I get enough to eat.” I am glad people care about my health, but I began taking everyone’s remarks to heart. If they would look at my family, they would see I am normal. When my mom married, she weighed 82 pounds. My family is short and slim, so the traits I posses should not be a surprise to people. Also, if they actually spent time with me, they would see I snack all the time on my favorite foods like pizza, ice cream, pop tarts, and apples. I have a high metabolism, so when if I eat large amounts of food, no one would be able to tell. The concerns from people began to make me think that I had problems, that my body wasn’t normal, or ‘Maybe something’s wrong with me, and my parents aren’t telling me.’ I talked to my mom and talked about her weight when she was my age, and she confirmed she was as tiny as I am now. Talking to my mom really helped and gave me assurance.

Today I am confident in my body, and I don’t care what people think about me. If people make comments, I ignore them and move on. God has made me who I am, and I am proud of my size and the person He has made me. I have also realized looks aren’t everything. “It is better to be pretty on the inside, rather than be pretty on the outside,” my mom teaches me.