Before I get into this: that title is not clickbait. It is not a cry for attention or fishing for nice compliments. It is the truth.

Let me paint you a picture of myself. I am five feet tall, and to be honest, I round up half an inch just because I can. I am not skinny. Sure, I’m “petite,” but a lot of “petite” clothes don’t fit me because people assume that being short equals weighing less. I don’t weigh less. And that’s okay.

I have thunder thighs. They often jiggle when I walk or jump or dance. I do not have a thigh gap. And that’s OK.

My stomach is my least favorite part of me. I look in the mirror and tell myself that if the lower part wasn’t there, I would feel better about myself. I could go down a shirt size and fit perfectly into clothes for once. I could stop sucking in when people take pictures of me, and I could wear a bikini -- or even a two-piece bathing suit -- comfortably, like I did when I was little. If I went to the gym more, and did more ab exercises, or more sit-ups, I would feel more confident. But I will never have a flat stomach. And that’s OK.

All of that is OK, because my height is a part of me, my weight is a part of me; everything that you see on the outside is a part of me.

My height makes me unique. Clothes shopping can be hard, but once I find something I like, I like it for years.

My thighs are fantastic to hit in order to keep time or when I’m laughing too hard or when I get excited. Sure, there isn’t space between them, but they are muscular and toned and that’s fine by me.

My stomach is the hardest part to love. I can never forget about it or pretend it isn’t there. What I can do is make peace with it, even while I’m trying to make it just the tiniest bit smaller. That in itself is a feat because I love food as much as I will love my future children.

I love my eyes. I love my smile. I love the part of my waist that comes in a little bit and makes me look pretty when just the right dress hits it a certain way.

People blame the media and magazines and our culture for making us hate our bodies and covet someone else’s. I am not doing that. Sometimes it’s hard to see the big-breasted, flat-tummy, “you-can-get-thin-in-five-easy-steps” girls everywhere I look. I get sucked into articles that proclaim they can tell you what the best bathing suit for your body shape is. My humble opinion is that if you like it, and if you like how you look in it, wear it. Pretty simple.

I am also not saying “Everybody should be obese! Eat like there’s no tomorrow! All of your chicken biscuits are mine!” All I’m saying is that if you don’t like your body, there are things you can do to change it, whether that includes working out more, changing your diet, or considering other healthy alternatives.

Sometimes I think that it’s ridiculous that I even want to write an article like this in the first place. There is a real problem when a five-foot-tall girl whose only dance move is the macarena can make you feel better about your body. But my goal in this is to assure you girls out there that yes, I’m insecure about my body, so if you are too, we’re in this together. If we’re in this together we can encourage each other. Pudge is normal, thunder thighs are normal, and feeding my stomach bulge is a favorite pastime of mine. Even while I don’t like my insecurities and I dislike parts of my body, I can love myself at the same time. And that’s OK.