I was always "the skinny girl."
When I was younger, I never really worried about my weight, nor was I self-conscious about it. But that all started to change as I grew up.
Being a picky eater did not bother me at all until I started going to lunch with friends and seeing them order these plates that looked so good. I knew I wouldn't like them. So I forced myself to like new things and my habits slowly started to change.
Then came college. I moved to Phoenix, Arizona, four hours away. I was surrounded by new people and new places. It was not my first time being away from home, but it was a hard transition moving away.
It helped that my boyfriend came to the same university as me. But still, I was really missing my family, talking to my mom, and being with all of my friends.
I started to eat like I never ate before. I had a meal card at my university that gave me $1,350 worth of food every semester. I was snacking all the time, something I never really used to do. I was ordering bigger portions and eating more food in one sitting. I wasn't really used to this.
I remember being in high school and always being tired. My mom told me that it was because I didn't eat, but I never believed her. But I was starting to think it was true.
I had so much energy and became socially and physically more involved with the new people in my life. I was in my first year of college and I was happy as could be.
One day, I stepped on the scale for the first time in a while. I felt butterflies in my stomach when it said 110 pounds. In high school, I struggled so much to gain weight and to "put some meat on my bones." I was so proud of myself for gaining weight.
I came home for Thanksgiving and it was the first time I had been back. My family and friends all told me how beautiful I looked and how proud they were of me. It was such a good feeling.
With my newfound energy, I began working out for the first time in a while, I became more involved in my university campus and got the job I prayed so hard to get.
I don't know whether to credit my weight gain to moving away for college, trying new foods, or just eating more. But I do know that I have never felt more good about myself than I do, now.
So, I guess my mom was right, after all.
