Size Doesn’t Matter

By: Ariel P.

            Every year many teenagers are uncomfortable with their weight and result to drastic measures like anorexia and bulimia in order to convince themselves that they can become like the slim sized people they see in everyday life.  These kinds of disorders are more commonly used with girls than guys.  At young ages teenage girls are inspired to follow their dreams and become what they want in life, but later in life, they are turned down because of the amount of fat that is on their bodies.  For example if you have ever seen the television series, America’s Next Top Model or The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency. In these shows thousands of girls that are a healthy size show up in hopes of becoming the world’s next top model, but instead they walk away with crushed hopes as they are turned down by judges or a single client because they aren’t the size that is required for a magazine shoot.  These are negative messages sent out to teenage girls telling them that you must be a size 2 to get a great career in life, but the reality is that there really aren’t that many skinny people in the world anymore, everyone is bigger than that.

 But instead of being comfortable with themselves, people began to start doing unhealthy things to themselves such as binging, yo-yo dieting, and trying tons of different dieting pills all for the sake of losing a few pounds.  However, the media is not the only thing to blame; the everyday pressures of life are to blame for this as well and as a result, it shows in your weight. For example, in high-school 2 out of 3 girls will feel conscious about their weight, which causes them to feel like they are constantly judged by their peers just because of they look.  “The things that make me feel uncomfortable about myself are my hips and my back, and I often feel like it does have to deal with school…” says Pinchie O. senior at Perry Hall High “…Sometimes when I look at these models, I wish I did have there bodies.”  People are constantly being judged and put down if they aren’t apart of the ideal society, and its time that society stopped stressing skinny, because big is the new beautiful.

But it’s not only the big girls that have a problem with their weight; there are girls that wish that they too could be fuller and thicker.  “Everything about my body makes me uncomfortable, I feel really awkward because I’m really tiny…” says Stephanie J senior at Perry Hall High. “…however, when I’m in school no one ever says anything.”

There is really no way to be happy with your weight, you’re criticized if you’re too skinny, and you’re criticized even more if you’re too big. There’s constant criticism from others about how someone should look which develops as self judgment of yourself and your total outlook, and you begin to feel uncomfortable about yourself. The only time someone feels any kind of accomplishment is when they lose weight.  “The only time I feel comfortable about my weight is when I lose a few pounds” says Pinchie O. There is so much that people go through to lose weight, and they’re literally killing themselves just to make others feel better. There has to be some change that can make people feel better about themselves, and that can only be achieved through accepting the fact that you are the size that you’re meant to be, and it’s very healthy, you shouldn’t have to change that for anyone.

“Nothing about my size makes me uncomfortable….”were the words of Destiny D. senior at Perry Hall High as she expresses her opinion on how to be comfortable with your weight. “…I want to become a model too and I will. I’ve never wanted to look like those other models, it looks unhealthy.” There are ways to feel comfortable with yourself, you have to be confident, hold your head high, and never give in to what other people say. “Big girls, no, all girls are Beautiful and they should never result to looking unhealthy and anorexic to prove that. All they have to do is carry themselves well.” That’s all you really need to do in order to be happy with yourself, carry yourself well, and never forget “Big is the new Beautiful.”