Being Skinny
Wednesday, 29 January 2014
A few months ago, I remember Zoe from Zoella and Louise from Sprinkle of Glitter made a video named "Why are you so skinny?". They were saying it's really offensive to hear comments like "Why are you skinny?" or "Are you eating ok?" and you shouldn't make a comment about someone's weight anyway. That's true. I used to be really upset about the fact people feel easier to comment on weight when that person is skinny than chubby. Until I was about 23 or 24. But now, I literally don't care at all.
I thought to write about it just in case there is someone out there who is going through the same as I went through. And if you are that person, it would be great if I could help you a bit.
I was not a skinny girl when I was little. After I entered the kindergarten, I lost weight drastically because of stress. Until I graduated high school, I was probably one of the skinniest girls at school. I was eating a lot, I liked sweets as others, I wasn't on diet and I was not sick. I was just skinny.
People always, always commented on my weight.
"You are so skinny, I'm jealous"
"Are you eating OK?"
"Why don't you eat more?"
"Where do you buy clothes, do they even have ones that fit you?"
"Your legs seem to break easily"
But I still remember, the most hurtful comment was from a stranger. I was walking to the school and someone said from behind "Look at that girl, her legs look like bars of iron".
Because I had to wear school uniform from age 6 until 18, my legs were always exposed. I was always embarrassed to show my legs because people stare at them, and say something about them.
Until recently, I didn't own a skirt because I didn't want to show my legs. I looked at myself in the mirror and thought my arms and legs looked like sticks. I felt like a skeleton. I thought I was very ugly. I did everything to gain weight, but it never happened until I graduated high school and became free from stress.
I suddenly gained like 3kg. When I was 22 when I had the lowest level of stress in my life except when I was a baby, my weight was +8kg. I realised that I could gain weight, and I finally looked healthy.
But after that, my weight went down again. Since then my weight has been under 40kg. But the biggest difference is that I don't care what people say about my weight anymore.
Even if you ask 100 people not to comment about other people's weight, there will be those people who still say mean things about the others. Some people don't understand why skinny people get offended to be said they are skinny. And yes, nobody says "why are you so chubby?" to chubby people. And yes, that's not fair.
But people say whatever they want to say. The only thing you can control is what you think about yourself. When you finally accept who you are, you feel lighter. You feel freer. You are able to love yourself more. And I know that's difficult but please try to remember that people are different. Just because you are skinnier than other people, that doesn't mean you are ugly or hideous. It's worse if you try to hide your body and lose confidence. As long as you are healthy and are not suffering from some serious health issues, you shouldn't be concerned that you are skinnier than other people.
A few years ago, I stopped getting offended by people commenting about my body. When someone says (mostly older people) "You are too skinny, you should eat more" I used too say something like "I'm eating OK, I just don't gain weight" to try to make them understand the truth. But it doesn't matter if that person knows about the truth or not. It's literally none of their business. Now I actually smile and say "Thanks for caring!" and that's it. The end of the conversation. When someone says "I'm so jealous you're skinny", I used to try to convince them how hard it was to be skinny. Now I make a joke like "The only downside is to have small boobs!" .
You don't have to take everything seriously at all. And you don't have to make all of them understand what it really is. As long as you know the truth, that's good enough.
If you are a skinny girl who is finding it difficult to accept who you are, you are not alone. I've been there and I totally understand how you feel. It took me more than 20 years to accept who I am, but now I don't worry about my weight and size at all. This is me, and I might gain weight once I've had a baby in the future, you never know. So I'm just trying to enjoy being skinny, although there are so many things that I don't like about it still (like, finding a perfect pair of jeans is the hardest!).
Don't let the mindless words hurt you.
P.S. If you are afraid of wearing a skirt, try a pencil skirt. I love midi length the best. And avoid an A-line skirt, it makes your legs skinnier.
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