It's time to normalize that body shapes can be healthy no matter what size they are. Our society too often teaches, at a very young age, that there is a distinct way you should look. If you are smaller than the ideal body, then "you need to eat more," "you're just skin and bones," and "you look sick." It's the same if you're considered bigger than what you "should look like, "you must love food," "should you really be eating that," and "you should work out more." You're given an ultimatum from the start. Look like an ideal body or you're not healthy. We are taught that it's normal for our bodies to be shamed by family, friends, neighbors, and strangers because they're "just worried about you."

We can't allow that type of behavior anymore.

Being worried about someone isn't an excuse for degrading their body.

We should no longer be afraid of doctor's appointments — our anxiety should not increase hour by hour as we get closer to it. Why is weight always the topic of discussion the majority of the time? I should be asked if I'm emotionally feeling alright, if I protect my skin when out in the sun, and if I put drugs into my body. The words underweight, overweight, and obese are thrown around way too often and are based solely on the body mass index (which happens to be an outdated system that has been proven unrealistic time and time again).

How much longer are we going to let societal standards define who we are and how good our health is? Our health is not determined by what size pants we wear or if our weight is more or less than the average number given to us by Google. We can no longer allow others to form our opinions and thoughts. Being able to see your ribs when wearing a bathing suit or having thicker thighs does not mean you aren't healthy! Health has to do with wearing sunscreen, if you smoke, how much you sleep, the average amount your body moves, and whether or not you consumed a good amount of nutrients for the day.

How we look is OUR business! We need to understand that in order to get society to realize that.