"You're already SO skinny? Why are you working out?"

For myself, you idiot.

That is the response I would prefer to hit people with every time I am asked this question. I know it is supposed to be a compliment, and I respond as if it is one-- typically, I thank the person for saying that. However, in reality I find myself continually frustrated with people's reaction when they see me coming out of the gym or bump into me sweaty, post-workout on campus. It is always one of disbelief, and then skepticism. As if me, and all of my scrawny cohorts should not be in the gym.

I am one of those women who is all around a perfect representative of the string bean body type. I am the girl whose metabolism is stuck in overdrive so that my frame stays rail-thin no matter how many pizza rolls I have consumed. And do not think I am complaining-- it is a blessing given the amount of junk food I can inhale at one time. I am thankful for my metabolism and appreciate the gift of being able to eat ice cream at every meal without concern of potential weight gain.

However, believe it or not, even us skinny people have things about our bodies we'd like to change. I, for one, would like to have a mere shred of muscle mass. Somewhere on my body, anywhere on my body, I would like to have something that is not just skin and bone. Not only that, but I'd like to be able to lift more than a gallon of milk before I break into a sweat. I can't even stack chairs at work without having to check for pit stains. There is really no other word for this than pathetic.

However, what gets old is that people think I exercise for all of the wrong reasons, or that I do so to "stay skinny." Spoiler alert: I do not work out because of a "societal pressure." It doesn't get to me, society, because if I let it, it would eat me alive. I don't work out because I feel the need to have "the perfect body." There is no such thing as the perfect body, no matter what the media distributes. And I certainly don't work out for male (or female) approval. No one should ever be allowed to dictate how my body looks and I will never give them that control.

I work out because I want it for myself. I want to set a goal for my body and work towards it. I want to be proud of my own results and the effort I have put in to achieve them. I want to be happy and healthy, and exercising is a big part of that. It doesn't matter how skinny I am, or what size anyone is for that matter, everyone has a place in the gym. So next time you see a string bean struggling out of the gym, I speak for us all when I say we aren't doing it for you. We're doing it for ourselves, you idiot.