In middle school, I was quite the "chunker." There's no way to sugarcoat it.
All of my life, I have struggled with my weight. I have tried different trainers, nutritionists...basically everything. When I was younger I would get teased for the dance costumes I couldn't fit into, and don't even get me started on the boys. It was always the worst when your friend would tell a guy you liked him, then he would scrunch his face in disgust.
I shed most of the fat with puberty, but I still was a bit chunky.
Sophomore year in high school I decided to make a change and try something new. I decided to avoid all diet plans, nutritionists and trainers. I would eat semi-healthy for every meal and go to the gym nearly every day. After about three months of consistent dedication, I dropped about 20 pounds.
As I was driving to high school one day and I thought to myself "Who are you?" I couldn't even answer the question. I was so focused on what I looked like, I forgot about me. "I just need to lose that extra five pounds," was all I told myself. I was constantly trying to fit societies definition of "perfect" which obviously isn't fit for my body type.
Losing the weight only created some sort of temporary happiness for me, and that wasn't very satisfying. I became moody all the time because I was depriving myself of things normal people could eat and still stay thin. I have a slow metabolism and even a piece of cake can make me gain a pound. It sucks, and it's not fair—but it's my body. I realized that being skinny just wasn't in my genetic makeup, and that was OK because I deserved to be happy 24/7, even if that meant I wasn't a size two. It has taken some time for me to grow into this thought, but I can proudly say that I'm so happy I was never meant to be skinny.
Fast forward to today, and I couldn't be more thankful for the little chunky Taylor. She taught me that i'm not better than anyone else. She taught me life is hard and people suck sometimes. But most of all, she taught me that you always need to be nice to people regardless of what they look like. I also found my best friend Maddie Smith through the process (who had my back through everything). Like my mom has always told me, "You treat others how you'd want to be treated."
So next time you criticize someone for being fat—just don't. That could be your kid some day.
