From a young age our society teaches us that in almost every sense, bigger is not better. We are surrounded with media interpretations of women whose small figures and overall glamorous looks are unattainable because of Photoshop and unfair standards. This is a dangerous practice and young girls grow up thinking that their developing curves, stretch marks, and imperfections make them just that; imperfect. I firmly believe that we need to stop thinking that there is one body type that should be valued, and instead of preaching on being thin we should focus on being healthy and strong while loving the body we have been given.

Now I’m definitely not perfect when it comes to this, I myself have struggled often with my body image and have only recently started to love the body I was given. Now you’re probably thinking, “Well what changed?” Honestly, my perspective and what I used my body for. For so long I believed I could never be fit enough, or strong enough, and that I definitely was not as beautiful as half of the women I saw on TV or even just some of my classmates.

But then I took a step back and really thought about that. Did I really need to compare myself to anyone else to have worth? Last time I checked beauty was never comparable, and art is so subjective that one person will see flaws where another will see absolute perfection. Once I realized this, I was determined to stop seeing flaws, and looking for everything good. I stopped counting stretch marks; instead I counted how many times a smile stretched across my face when I was surrounded by people I loved. No more did I agonize over pounds lost, but focused on the weight of my impact on others around me in a positive way. It took me so many years of struggling and there are still days where I’m insecure but I’m always quick to remind myself that I am my own kind of beautiful.

The other thing that helped me get a better grasp on loving my body was putting it to work. Since I’ve been home from school for break my brother has been training me and I go to the gym as much as I can. I’ve pushed my body past what I thought I could do previously and am seeing changes already. I can run faster and longer than I ever could before, and my muscles are growing stronger every day. Every time I finish a workout I feel so much better at my body for what it just accomplished. For what I accomplished.

Even so, I am not skinny, and I don’t think I ever will be. But there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Every person has a different body type, so if you are a size zero, you are just as beautiful as someone who is a size twenty-four. It’s time for us all, women and men alike, to stop force feeding ourselves these unfair standards and expectations and accept everyone’s body for what it is. And that’s perfect, every body is perfect in its own way, and I hope that in coming years more people see that.