As a little girl, I was very tiny. I was also very athletic, and was always running around doing something. I ate like a normal child, with the endless slices of pizza and lots of ice cream, because who doesn't love ice cream? I was very athletic and "fit" up until my junior year of high school, when things started to slip. It was harder to lose weight and keep it off, food was extremely tempting, and endless images of the "perfect" body circulated the internet, making it hard to not be insecure.

I had amazing friends though, who endlessly told me how beautiful I was, and who would go on walks or runs with me if I felt like working out. I did not consider myself fat necessarily, but I was not happy with my body image. I would look back at old pictures from my freshman and sophomore year, and that was my motivation to work out to get that body back.

As much motivation that I had, it was still insanely hard to keep body weight off. It felt like an endless cycle of losing weight, having one cheat day, and gaining it all back. It became physically tiring. I told myself I couldn't stop though. I started eating healthier, made my portions a little smaller, tried to snack less, and drank lots of water on top of exercising. While that only held up for a little bit, it felt amazing to know that I was going somewhere at least.

Finally, one day, I woke up and decided that even though being healthier in general felt amazing, and that I was going to continue being healthy, I was perfect just the way I was. I could never escape seeing pictures of flawless girls on social media, but that's just how they look, (sometimes, it's mostly just photo-shop), and this is how I look, and I'm fine with it.

I always heard people saying that girls over a certain weight should not wear certain clothing also, so when I would go shopping and try on certain clothing, I thought it looked awful and that I could never be seen in public with it on because I wasn't a size two. Now, I happily wear tighter clothing, (that still fits perfectly), and clothing that two years ago, I might not have worn because I was scared of looking fat.

So many girls today struggle with body image, and I say screw that. You don't have to be a size two to wear a skin tight dress, or a crop top with high-waisted shorts. Go for that cookie, and don't be ashamed. Work your body image girl, and own it. Learning that I am beautiful the way that I am has made me the happiest person I can be.