I am 18 years old. I am five feet, four inches tall, and I weigh about 115 pounds. I am much lighter than most of my friends. And no, I am not, nor have I ever been, anorexic. I've never had an issue with being overweight, yet I've been shamed for my body. How is this possible?

I have always been smaller than many of my friends. Talking with my mom the other day, I discovered that when I was young, I was in the second percentile on the growth charts. That means that 98 percent of girls my age were bigger and heavier than I was; I was tiny. Like, TINY. I remember walking into some of my elementary school classes and being amazed at how everyone seemed so huge. Looking back, it must have been pretty comical to see little me running around with all of these big people.

In middle school, I got teased about my weight from a few people. Sometimes it wasn't meant to be teasing, but it sure didn't feel great.

"You're soooo skinny."

"I bet if I sneeze, you'd blow over."

"Go put some meat on your bones."

"Wanna go grab a burger? You could probably use it ..."

Like I said, some of it was meant to be lighthearted, but there were a few comments made over the years about how I looked like I had an eating disorder or how I looked like a toothpick. I really wasn't anorexic skinny - I was just smaller than a lot of my friends.

As puberty hit, it became obvious to me that I wasn't built like most girls my age. To this day, I'm WAY less chesty and less curvy than a lot of girls I know. I used to be very self-conscious of my size, chest, and weight. I tried to eat a lot of food to gain weight. Once, a friend told me eating grapes could bump you up two bra sizes. I ate a bag of grapes in my lunch every day for several weeks (it didn't work, by the way).

High school rolled around, and several people still told me that I needed to eat more or I looked "too skinny." I was frustrated and fed up. Then it hit me:

There's been this huge push in the media on having large bodies that people are starting to see naturally lean people like myself as unhealthy.

Everything in our society, from the songs we hear to the "reality" TV we watch, encourages women to love their bodies. This is okay. Everyone should feel confident in how they are built. Everyone deserves to be happy and healthy. But there seems to be this push for large figures, while smaller framed figures are labeled as "unrealistic expectations." This is something that should be stopped. If society is all for the idea of self-worth and love, why am I being told that my natural body isn't okay?

In Meghan Trainor's song, "All About That Bass," she praises women with large bodies. The song was everywhere on the radio and the news, saying what a wonderful thing this was. Congratulations, Meghan Trainor, for promoting self-worth and value. However, there's one thing the media seemed to overlook that really struck a chord with me. Let's take a look at a line from the song, shall we?

"You know I won't be no stick figure silicone Barbie doll ..."

"... I'm bringing booty back
Go 'head and tell them skinny b______ that ..."

I think you get the point. The song glorifies the women who have hourglass shapes and larger figures, all while subtly undermining those who lack curves or chests. I'm not saying that you need to look a certain way, or like a Barbie doll, as the song mentions. I read an article the other day about being plus size, and the struggle for clothes. In the article, it talked about how "skinny people have it easy," when nothing could be farther from the truth. I have been through SO many stores, struggling to find jeans that fit my waist, shirts that fit my chest, or dresses that don't make me look like a drowned rat. Let's think about this logic for a moment: there are women all over America, and the world actually, who cannot have that "perfect" large figure. Why are we bashing (even if it's subtle bashing) these women when we claim to be about loving people for the way they are?

I am not skinny because I never eat. My metabolism is fast, my diet is relatively healthy, and I am an avid runner. Trust me, when Sonic has their 89 cent burger days, I'm totally there (by the way, eating popcorn chicken ON the burger is fantastic; 10/10 would recommend). I'm not a thin person because I have an eating disorder. I don't go for a run and work out to lose weight. I'm staying in shape. I'm training my body to be strong and healthy. It's my body and my lifestyle. But if someone who's overweight were to say the same thing, how would people react?

Let me make this loud and clear - write this down, put it on a sticky note and tape it to your forehead, whatever it takes to remind yourself: telling someone they should "put some meat on their bones" is EXACTLY the same as telling someone they're too fat.

Why is it okay for someone to call me anorexic, but if I were to call someone fat, I would be rude? Why is it okay for someone to tell me I need to gain weight, but I would be told to shut up if I suggested someone lose weight? Why am I discouraged for loving my small frame when other women are applauded when they say they are proud of their curves?

We as a society should be promoting fitness and balance. We shouldn't be encouraging kids to down buckets of Happy Meals, but we also shouldn't be telling people to go on diets where a "meal" consists of three drops of water and a Wheat Thin. Healthy lifestyles are a conscious choice. I am not telling anyone they need to be my weight - everyone is different; I am simply saying that the media needs to be promoting naturally lean bodies, as well as naturally curvaceous body shapes as well.

To sum it up, don't judge someone based on their appearance. I know I'm not alone in this situation - I've met so many other girls who have been made fun of for their weight, not because they are "too fat," but because they are "too skinny." Don't tell someone to "go eat a cheeseburger" to gain weight, and don't try to label someone as anorexic or bulimic if you don't know their situation. It's equally as rude as trying to tell someone with natural curves that they are too fat. Not everyone has curves and a busty figure, yet not everyone has a small frame and a metabolism that allows them to burn off two cheeseburgers in a few hours. Every woman deserves to feel confident and valuable. Every woman ought to receive respect, no matter her body shape. It's high time society took a step back and realized that naturally thin is beautiful too.