Living with PCOS taught me that I need to work harder than others for what I want. I recognize that fertility doctors may be my future. That birth control, Metformin, and Naproxen Sodium have become my best friends. They help stabilize the hormones that my body can't. They increase the chance of fertility, and decrease the chance of diabetes. They increase my ability to function like a "normal" person should.
PCOS taught me that losing weight isn't the most important thing on my agenda. That actually, weight loss is the last thing on my agenda and my health is the first. That losing weight will not be the key to my happiness, but lowering my A1C levels with regular exercise and healthy eating may help (even though those won't contribute to weight loss). I know that I'm allowed to eat fried food and sugary drinks, but it's about balance and I refuse to be ashamed of the food I put in my body.
I learned that my stretch marks tell a crazy story of a girl who once was too insecure to wear shorts, but now shows off her stretch marks on social media. I learned that my acne doesn't make me a freak of nature, but rather a girl who is struggling with a disease that is truly bigger than she is. And those tiny hairs on my tummy don't make me a werewolf, but instead a girl who won't let her PCOS define her, but rather enhance her character instead.
Most importantly, PCOS taught me about what it's like to be passionate about things and the confidence I need to get through every day. It's taught me that I will never mirror a model in a Victoria's Secret magazine and that it's okay. Though I will never be society's ideal girl, my life is valuable and if someone can't love me at a size 14, that's their loss.
