If you ask anyone who experienced being bullied in childhood, especially girls, more than likely they would mention being bullied for the way their body looks.

Growing up, any girl who wasn't stick thin was automatically considered "fat," and therefore experienced being treated in a negative manner. In society's eyes, physical appearance determines one's worth. People choose to focus on your outer appearance rather than who you are as a person. Cliche, yes, but it's the truth. However, there's one thing that people fail to realize:

There is no such thing as being "fat."

There is, however, such a thing as having fat. You can't be something that you just so happen to have; that would be ridiculous. For example, I have fingernails. Does that mean that I am fingernails? Absolutely not!

Everyone has to have a certain amount of fat on their body, otherwise they would die. Some people have more fat on their bodies than others, and some people have less.

So what?

I've noticed numerous people using health reasons to justify body shaming bigger people, which is absolutely disgusting. They'll use the "unhealthy eating and lack of exercise" argument without taking into consideration that they don't know people's stories.

What about those with naturally fast metabolisms that eat terribly and never exercise? One's status as a "bigger" person doesn't necessarily correlate with their lifestyle choices. There could be multiple reasons for having a bigger body than just unhealthy choices--for example, PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) in women is a condition that causes multiple cysts to form on a woman's ovaries, and this disease comes with many side effects, one of them being that women with this condition have difficulty losing weight while it's quite easy to gain weight.

Also, stress can cause excessive weight gain, being on certain medications can trigger weight gain, genetics can play a factor, I could go on and on.

Bullying during childhood can affect one greatly in adulthood. Children's minds are like sponges; they absorb anything they're taught by adults, teachers and friends, whether they're being taught beneficial or harmful lessons. Once a certain mindset is established in childhood, it is extremely difficult (but not impossible) to retrain the brain to think differently. Children who were bullied in their early years will more likely experience insecurity in adulthood. Here are some examples:

I was 8 when I was introduced to body shaming by my "best friend". She asked me to come to the middle of the playground with her and her other friend. Both she and her friend were both naturally very thin, and I was a little on the chunky side. She told me that she wanted me to lose weight so I could look like her, which ended up being a huge fight between me and her as well as in our friend group (she was the "favorite", and I was the friend who was more of a placeholder who didn't really have much value in that group). To this day, even though I go to the gym almost every day and I try to eat healthy, I still struggle with my body because I was taught to do so.

"I was bullied for my weight starting as early as 5th grade. Looking back now, I realize I wasn't even 'big' at all. In fact, I'd love to have the body I thought was 'fat' throughout middle and high school. I was always bigger in the hips than other people my age, and my body matured fairly early. Instead of appreciating it, I was constantly ashamed of my body. I had a 'fat girl' complex, without ever being what most would consider 'fat'. Because of this, I was sexualized by men and bullied by women. I grew to hate my body and began cutting. Luckily I was never sick enough to be considered bulimic or anorexic, though I sure tried, and my body dysmorphia was extremely present until after high school even. I've fought hard for the little bit of confidence I have now, but I'd be lying if I said those bullies and the things they said to me didn't linger in my mind to this day. I just grew strong enough to mentally talk over them; to choke those thoughts out with positive ones" - D

"I was bullied for my weight, but I learned to embrace it at a pretty young age. I am fat, I like to eat. Just because someone's metabolism works faster than mine doesn't mean they don't curl up with a bag of Doritos before bed. Once people realized my weight didn't bother me, they had no way to use it against me. People can't shame you if you're shameless." - J

This last story is one of my favorites as it is the definition of turning a negative into a positive.

People don't seem to realize how important body positivity is. Growing up, being twig thin was the "thing", and I was body shamed for not fitting that category. I've always been short and thick and round; I will never be thin no matter what. But for years, I hated my body because society told me to.

However, nowadays people with my body type are the "thing", and I now get praised for certain aspects of my body that I was once bullied for. I now love my body, but I've realized that it's because society told me to.

When a different body type becomes the newest "thing", will I lose my confidence? Will I no longer be satisfied with the way I look? Will I stop doing as many squats as I usually do?

Love your body. If you're unhappy with the body you have, then change what you don't like. But always remember to love the body you have before you work for the body you want. You are beautiful, no matter what they way. Words can't bring you down. You are beautiful in every single way.

Yes, words can't bring you down.