The Continuous Struggle

I struggle with body confidence a lot, especially when I was in Middle School and finally got to have Instagram and social media. I was constantly comparing myself to all of these Instagram models, and I noticed that it was really unhealthy, as I was just 13 years old. I wondered why I didn’t look like what I saw on these apps, and I kept asking myself why my body was not shaped that way. There'd be times where I wouldn't eat during the day or I would skip out on meals because I thought I wasn't I wasn't good enough if I wasn't skinny or didn’t look like these models. 

When I entered high school, I realized how stupid I was for letting those things get to me. I began working out for the well-being of me and felt more confident, yet I eventually fell into that cycle of  comparing myself to other girls in high school, which caused me to skip out on meals. I wasn't starving myself or anything, but I still would struggle with confidence daily. Then I joined the swim team and began losing weight and getting healthier and happier. I personally found that working-out is a positive outlet for me to increase my confidence and well-being. Although this helped in the short term, I still struggle everyday with my body image because I still have social media. Sometimes I ask myself why I don’t look a certain way, but I am much more mature now to understand that I don’t need to look a certain way to be accepted by me. 

As long as I love myself and I’m happy and healthy, that’s what matters. And that's my advice to people who struggle: as long as you're confident and happy with yourself, that's what's important; you don't have to look like every other girl out there. Being different and unique and yourself is what’s important.  Do what you want, wear what you want. If you like working out, then work out, if you don’t like working out, then don’t. If you like wearing baggy clothes, then wear baggy clothes, if you like wearing tight clothes, then wear them.  Do whatever makes you confident with your body. If you're struggling because you're asking yourself “why don't I look like all those stereotypical girls on social media” well, probably someone is saying that about you. I'm sure every girl has struggled with their body image at some point and it's just something that we go through. It's also especially hard now with the prevalence of social media and everything, but I’ve just learned to think to myself “I don't need to look like that, and this is who I am”, which is how I have built myself up from the inside.  And that is my story of how I have struggled with my body image and confidence, thank you.