Like any decent college student, I take most of my life advice from P!NK and Tina Fey. I like both of them for their unwavering confidence and dedication to being themselves, so when their names came up in the same article, I had to see what it was about. It was body positivity. Ugh. Not my thing. It's not that I don't think we should be positive about our bodies because, duh, we should be, but every time I read something about learning how to be more confident in my body I am reminded of how far I have to go. Every time I've stepped on a scale since coming to college the number is not what I would like it to be and that feels like crap.
I got the same feeling when I looked at my grades. Every time I got a paper back last spring I got the same sinking feeling as when I stepped on the scale. It was as if my brain matter fell out of my head and went straight to my thighs. The numbers just were not what I wanted them to be. Too high on the scale, too low on the papers. Then P!NK and Tina came to my rescue. The article said that neither of them ever step on a scale because the weight on a scale isn't necessarily an accurate representation of physical health.
Not weighing yourself isn't especially profound or rare but it did get me thinking. What if I stepped off the scale in every area of my life? When it comes to weight muscle weighs more than fat so if your only focusing on the number then you may lose out on celebrating your strengths. I quickly realized I have "muscle" in many areas of my life that I was missing because the number on the "scale" was hiding it. So I said "screw it," and stopped looking at the numbers. I stopped looking at the number on the scale and started looking at the number on the dumbbells I was lifting. I stopped looking a grade percentages and started actually reading my professors comments. I got rid of Instagram completely.
Something changed when I stepped off the scales. I'm a stronger athlete because I'm not worrying about my weight. I'm a stronger student because I'm not looking at the grade. I'm more confident in pictures because I don't care about the likes. I have decided to live my life unweighted and feel like the burden is lighter because of it.
