It's rude to tell someone that they could use an extra cheeseburger. It's rude to comment on someone's lack of butt. It's rude to flat out tell someone that they are too skinny.
So, to all the people who have ever alluded to my weight, or my dress size, or my eating habits, this is why I was offended:
There was a time my freshman year of college when my roommates were obsessed with losing weight. None of them were particularly overweight, but I happened to maintain a size 2 in most jeans and look reasonably frumpy in size medium tee-shirts. Quite frankly, I was content with my size, and I even thought that I could gain a few pounds and still be okay.
We would do all of our shopping together on Sunday nights, and the three of them bought a scale, broccoli, and Diet Dr. Pepper. I bought my usual breakfast bagels and 2 liter of (non-diet) soda and frozen meals.
The problem was that every time I put something that didn't match their newly found eating habits in the cart, they would look at me like I just committed some sort of crime- since they were trying to lose weight that I would need to do the same. So I started trading my regular soda for diet and my popcorn for blueberries and so on. When they would get on the scale, I would join them because I felt like it would be rude for me not to. That if I didn’t hop on, they would notice that I didn’t care about my weight. However, when I did, and when they were standing next to me, they would huff and puff and look like they smelled something gross. I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong. I couldn’t figure out why they were mad at me for losing weight. I mean, I was doing the same thing as them, wasn’t I?
But, even though society said that I should have been losing weight, even if it was for the sake of my roommates, in my heart I didn’t want to. Every time I would get on the scale I would take a deep breath and try to be proud of myself, but inside I was shaking and starting to worry that I was getting too skinny. My clothes were starting to not fit the way I liked for them to, and my cheeks were starting to not look as full as they once did. I started to wear more layers and scarves.
It took Spring Break and a week at home for me to realize that there was a problem. I had lost an unreasonable amount of weight. My body could not conform to be like theirs. Really, it was scary. In this whole situation, I learned that sometimes someone’s healthy is another person’s unhealthy- and that works both ways. I learned that I needed to eat a lot to maintain a healthy weight, and that some people had to do the opposite. I learned that in no way whatsoever was I too skinny before this happened, no matter what I was told. I did not need to conform to what society thought I needed to do, just so I would fit in. I learned that I needed to do what was right and healthy for me.
I now know what too skinny is, so please don’t ever call me that again.
