Body shaming is a very hot topic issue in today’s society. Body shaming is the act of judging or making unnecessary comments about someone else’s weight and size. Body shaming is bullying. It has so many effects on people, both mental and physical. There are many opinions on body shaming but I am here to tell you that there needs to be an end to it.

From the time I was eight all the way until middle school the kids in my class would call me fat, a cow, and anything else they could come up with to hurt me.

I used to come home bawling from school, telling my mom about all the horrible names that they called me. She said to me, “Riley, don’t listen to what other people say about you. Let them think what they want but don’t care. When you care about their mean words, you give them power.”

I refused to give them the power. I refused to let them tell me what my worth was. After a while of not caring what they thought, I started to heal. I was able to look in the mirror without crying again. I even had the courage to step on the scale. 100 lbs. Still fat but that’s okay, I thought.

When I was ten-years-old my step dad told me that boys would never like me because I was too fat. When I was thirteen-years-old, one of my friends told me that I was so beautiful… from the neck up. When I was 16-years-old my brother told me that I wasn’t ugly and that if I lost 20 pounds I’d look awesome.

All those years of trying to heal myself were gone.

I didn’t care what my classmates thought of me, who were they anyway? But my family… my friends... they are the most important people in my life. I care about what they think, no matter how hard I try not to.

I began to believe that if my family and friends, the people that were supposed to be on my side, couldn’t accept me or love me for who I am, then who could?

Body shaming causes low self-esteem and depression. When people keep pushing and pushing and insulting your insecurities, no matter how hard you try not to care, it hurts. These words that have been thrown at me all my life about my body caused my self-esteem to plummet once again.

I stopped caring about my appearance, because I was ugly and fat anyways, right? I stopped wearing shorts because I thought my legs were too disgusting to be seen. I tried to cover myself up with makeup.

It seemed to bring out my “only good feature” (my face) as others would say. I would go on the internet for hours googling “How to lose weight fast,” “How to look skinnier,” “How to be prettier” etc.

Eventually, self loathing turned into depression. I would come home from school and just lay in my bed. I was so tired I couldn’t even cry, I would just stare at the ceiling numbly. I had no motivation and just wanted to die.

Society has put this label on us that if we aren’t pretty then we are practically worthless. That’s what I felt. I started self-harming at the age of 12.

12 years old.

I was a child feeling so much torment and hurt because of the nasty words people spewed to me about my weight.

So, the next time you feel the need to make a comment like, “Why don’t you lose some weight?” or “Eat a cheeseburger,” just remember that words hurt. Not every thought in your head needs to be spoken aloud, especially at the risk of someone’s mental health.