I have been "overweight" since puberty. And to be honest, during the middle school and early high school years, people were very rude to me about it. I recall a time in middle school where I was sitting at the lunch table and this table of girls began to "moo" at me, calling me a cow and mocking how big I was. I became very depressed from it, because words do hurt, especially at that fragile age. Eventually, I dated a guy who told me, "You'd be a lot prettier if you lost a few pounds." So I did, because you can't have a boyfriend who's embarrassed about your size, right?

Right.

Get rid of the ignorant guy and move on. Girl (and boy), you are flawless just the way you are. No matter the curves, no matter how much makeup you wear (or how you wear it), no matter the skin tone, no matter what kind of clothes you wear. You are stunning.

After that guy had broken up with me, I was a mess. "Is it me? Am I really that ugly? Am I really that fat?" The word "fat" irks me when used as a demeaning term. Yes, I have fat. No, I am not "fat." You have fingernails, but are you a fingernail? No. That's silly.

Now, I'm not a perfect human. No one is. So I do have my days where I feel down on myself. But that's how building confidence works. My sophomore-junior year of high school, I was really awful to myself mentally. Telling myself I wasn't good enough, telling myself I would never find true happiness. I would rant all about it on my Tumblr page. But one of my closest friends that I've known since sixth grade messaged me on Tumblr and told me to find one thing I liked about myself daily and it would help. I thought that was silly, considering I didn't particularly like anything about myself.

I started small. I said I liked my hair, which was really neat at the time. The front was very light blonde and the back of my hair was a deep chocolate brown. It was unique and it was probably one of my favorite hairstyles. The next day, I mentioned how I liked the color of my eyes. Over time, I repeated some of the same things, but I made progress.

I've gained a lot of weight since high school, I'll admit to that. But I've never felt more confident in who I am as a person. I wear clothes that fit, since I've acknowledged that no one really cares about what pant size I am. I eat in front of people and don't care if I'm judged. I listen to music I want to listen to and I am not ashamed of my free-spirited, open-minded personality.

People act highly offended when I don't act ashamed to eat or feel down on myself for having to shop in the "Plus Size" section of stores. Sorry, but not really, that I'm comfortable in my own skin.

Weight is not everything. It's just a number people tend to take too seriously. As long as you look good and feel good, who cares about others' opinions about you? Slay daily, eat good food, and take life as it comes.