When I first came to college, I realized something: people come in all shapes and sizes, literally!
During high school, I typically saw a lot of people who were generally skinny or they had a little bit of weight on them. Most of my friends in high school were the skinnier ones who could eat a four-course meal and not gain an ounce. And then there was me: I would eat a four-course meal and gain every bit of the weight. Although it doesn't seem fair (and it's not) I'm still chunky because that's how I am. I like my body and I'm OK with being the bigger person.
When I say bigger, I don't mean the size of an elephant, I simply mean a little larger than others. At one point I was scared to come to college because I didn't think there would be many other people who weighed as much as me, if not more. And thank God I was surprised. My first day I was astonished at how many different types of people there were. I saw people who were 4 feet tall, and some who were almost at 7 feet. I also saw people who weighed 90 pounds, and some who weighed roughly 300 to 400. I felt relieved that I was in a diverse community.
Although I felt normal because I fit in, I also noticed a bunch of new struggles that come along with being the chunky one. Many people who weigh more have a slightly difficult time adapting to changes that come along with going to college. Some of the challenges may not be as hard, but even though they are still annoying.
1. Desks
Almost every university has a hall or classroom that has those desks. I despise them. You know what I'm talking about, the desks that are fit for maybe an 8th grader. They have a right handed setup and I think there's barely 12 inches of space between the back of the chair and the top of the desk. If you've sat in them before, I'm sure you know how to maneuver your way into them and then for the next 50 minutes of class, you can't breath too hard or else the desk will break.
2. Campus Clothing (Or Clothing In General)
The moment your friend says, "Let's go shopping! I need some school apparel!" you automatically think, "Oh no, can I sit this one out?" Most stores nowadays are getting better at having larger sizes, but most of the time there's only one shirt that is bigger than a large-sized t-shirt. But of course they carry small, medium, and large in extra quantities! Yet when you do finally find your size, the price is probably a little too much, only because there is "extra material."
3. Sweat
No, it is not sweet, but we all know how bad the sweat can get. Applying deodorant two times a day sometimes isn't enough. Even if you aren't that big, you can still sweat tremendously but with the more weight on your body, you are physically going to produce more sweat, and the smell, appearance and even feeling is absolutely disgusting.
4. Please Don't Burst My Bubble
There are some days I'm okay with sitting closely to someone, and other days I wish I had a bubble to surround me and keep others out of my personal space. Some people don't understand that bigger people need a little more room to breath and to walk, so a majority of the time they are invading our personal space and it gets aggravating.
5. Food
Everyone loves food. If you don't, then there's something wrong with you. However, some days, I just don't feel like eating a lot. Whether my stomach hurts or I'm nervous for some reason, I sometimes only eat enough to get by. One of the most infamous questions I get asked is, "Why aren't you eating that much?" Uh, maybe because I don't need a lot of food, why does it matter? Just because someone is bigger, it doesn't mean that they eat a lot, they could just have a slow metabolism. Being bigger is not always caused by over-eating.
Of course everyone has probably dealt with one of these problems, but the bigger people experience them on a daily basis. Being bigger isn't necessarily bad, it can just be a little irritating at points.
