Growing up I was always the tiny girl in the class. I was a short, skinny-minny. Doctors were always worrying about my weight because I was below where I "should" be. Don't worry though, just because I was little doesn't mean I wasn't healthy. I got so furious when someone told me I needed to eat because trust me, I ate (I honestly ate all day). Some people are just born naturally tiny, AKA me. I played sports my whole childhood and ate normal meals with my family. My mom made my lunch every day for me when I was in elementary school and I always went home with an empty lunchbox. I was and still am healthy.

Being little was never a problem for me until I got older, around high school. If I had a dollar for every time someone told me, "girl you could use a burger, maybe two" or "I wish I could eat as much as you do and stay as tiny as you are" I'd be a millionaire. After a while those comments started to get in my head though. It made me self-conscious about my size. I kept thinking to myself, “gosh, if I could gain even just ten pounds I would probably look normal.” What kind of thought is that? I would look normal? I was healthy but society was making me think the way I looked was not normal. Society made me feel like I was not “sexy” because I didn’t have curves or because I didn't look “thick.” "Real women have curves." Last time I checked I’m pretty sure I’m a real woman.

So what did I do? I decided that I wouldn’t watch how I ate and just keep up with my sports. But nothing changed. Well, until Freshman 15 came along (oh yes, its real). I finally did gain that 10 pounds I originally wanted and I was happy because I felt like no one could say anything about my size anymore. That is when it hit how sad what I wanted really was. I realized how people comment on how tiny someone is to their face is a type of body shaming. No one thinks that when they talk about a person being little and saying they need a burger is just as bad as telling someone they need to not eat a burger.

What I am trying to say is, think twice about making skinny comments to people who are naturally little. Don’t tell us we need to eat more. Don’t tell us we could eat everything and still be little. Don’t tell us we could fit into children’s clothes. Don’t put down someone just because they are little. It really is just as bad as putting someone down because they are over weight. It hurts and it makes us self-conscious. I’m proud to weigh a whopping 108 at the age of 20. I am healthy and I am comfortable in my own body.

I think I’m going to go eat a burger now, not because someone told me I need one, but because my tiny self wants one.