There are many things in life which you CAN control, but there are still plenty that you can’t. Who your parents are, where you’re born, what you’re good at, god given stuff, right? Well another thing is body type. To go into it briefly, there are three different body types: ectomorph, endomorph, and mesomorph. Ectomorph figures tend to be tall and thin, lean, and have a difficult time developing muscle. Endomorph figures have a higher body fat percentage. And mesomorphs are well built and muscular, what is normally called an athletic build.

This is to the girls who are mesomorphs.

And no, this isn’t me trying to say that being a size zero is bad, before anyone wants to think that. But when most people think of females they think of sweet dainty small women who don't make a big physical impact when they walk in the room. Men don't think of women who are stronger than them and who could lift more than them any day of the week. The initial thought for just about anyone is a small, skinny, short female.

That's not me. I'm the type of female that isn't thought about. I don't hide well in rooms, as much as I may want to try at times. I'm a known presence in a space. I don't try to be intimidating and whatnot but I also don't try to hide myself. I don't try to demand a space, but sometimes I still do.

I know growing up that I would see other athletes at tournaments and think of the god given abilities they were lucky enough to have and I wasn’t. Speed and height were two of the big ones that always stuck out to me.

I’m a 5’7” female who has broad shoulders and likes to lift and workout and plays softball year-round. I am your typical athlete. And I fit the normal looks of a 19-year-old girl as well. I look average basically. But on those dumb BMI calculators, I’m told that I am overweight. I rank a 26.6 and ‘normal’ is ranked between 18.5 and 24.9.

So, being ‘overweight’ I think to myself, hmm I wonder where it is that I could lose weight? And my answer? NOWHERE.

I don’t need to lose weight to fit a dumb calculator that the CDC uses on society. I like the way my body looks and I don’t want to change it anyhow or anyway.

I like my muscles and I like the way that they make me stand out from my peers. I like lifting and being able to tell that I’m getting stronger. I like to be able to see the progress that I’ve made and how far I’ve come. I like all 170 pounds of me and I wouldn’t change it for anything. I’ve been 170 pounds since my junior year of high school. Since then, I’ve stayed around that weight, plus or minus 5 pounds maybe, but I have still noticed a difference in my performance. I have built tons of muscle in the last four years, but I like it. It makes me stand out and I’m okay with that.

I used to be the scrawny little girl whose shorts would fall and shirts would be too big because I had nothing to me. I’ve come a long way since then and I could not be happier.

So to the girls like me who may think that maybe they need to lose weight because they don't weigh the average 135-155 pounds. Don't change because you think you need to. Change it if you WANT to. Don't think you have to fit the average stereotype weight. It's not a big deal. Who cares what other people think?

So, yes, maybe you weigh more than all of your friends, but that doesn't change who you are as a person. That just means that sometimes there's a little more to love, even if it doesn't look like it.