As for us girls and women, having body issues is something we all struggle with at some point in our lives. Now I know that men and boys deal with body issues, but I'm mainly going to focus on women and girls. As for myself, I have dealt with low self-esteem and a poor body image since I was eight years old.

I remember the first day I saw my body as something less than beautiful. I was at my local summer camp. I was wearing a two piece bathing suit as many young, adolescent girls did. As I was walking down to the lake with a girl in my group, she expressed, "Those boys think you look fat, but I don't think your stomach is that big." I shit you not that's what she told me. Word for word. I don't often tell people about this story, but I felt that it was necessary to discuss because body shaming happens at such a young age for all girls. For the past ten years I have viewed my stomach as an insecurity.

Doesn't that sound so screwed up? Eight year olds telling another eight year old that she is fat?

Also, this isn't going to be an article about my eight year old self questioning her body and the size of it, but I wanted my readers to understand that body issues start at such a young and impressionable age.

In America, we have such high standards for women. Others may disagree, but it's the truth. I think it's great that society is now more accepting of plus-sized models, but we are still stuck in the idea that a woman with a flat stomach, a proportionally sized butt, a toned, but not too muscular body, and lean and cellulite-free legs is a perfect, desirable woman. I personally have never had any of these key elements of being a desirable woman, and many other women also haven't. For starters, I am not genetically made to have these body features. I am 50% Italian, so naturally I'm short and curvy. I am five feet tall, so my legs aren't long and lean. I have thick thighs. I have a big butt for my body size. My calves are pretty muscular. When I sit, my stomach has rolls. I have cellulite on the back of my legs. All of my flaws are what make my body perfectly imperfect.

Last year, I would have never been able to write about my flaws and insecurities, but through acceptance and time, I have learned to love my body. Of course, I still struggle with my insecurities, like my stomach, but I'm working on it. Since my development of my gluten allergy, I have lost weight everywhere on my body, especially in my stomach. I haven't felt so happy and healthy in such a long time.

Although nobody has told me I'm overweight since I was eight, that conversation has and always will be embedded in my mind. There are many days when I wish I could just get erase the memory, but then I remember that moment in my life has made me into a stronger woman.

We all need to stop body shaming each other and our selves. It can negatively impact us for years. I know this for a fact because for ten years, I never loved my body. It's taken me an entire decade to realize I will never be the tall girl with lean legs, and I am more than okay with it. We all should be more than okay with our bodies. Although acceptance is difficult at first, once you're past it, you will learn to love your body.

Wow, after writing this I feel like crying, but in a good way. I'm genuinely proud of myself and the journey I have gone through with my body issues. Most mornings, I wake up and look at myself in the mirror and a smile comes across my face. I love my legs, my stomach, my arms, my everything.

Having a positive body image about yourself starts at a young age. Moms and dads, tell your daughter she is beautiful, and perfect the way she is everyday.

I'd like to end on a positive note. You may still struggle with body positivity, and that's okay. You may be seventy-five years old and still struggle with the acceptance of your body, and that's also okay. Learning to accept your body isn't like a light switch that you just turn on. It takes time. It takes understanding your body. It takes learning about your genetics. It takes experiencing the hardships of body issues and learning from them. It takes acceptance to love who you are, inside and out.

As a favorite poet of mine once said, "Stand in awe of your body." - Henry David Thoreau