
So let's get real and get detailed. I'm about 5 feet 5 inches tall, which means average weight is from 114lbs to 144lbs (roughly). Throughout high school I was about 105lbs and then as I entered early adulthood, I started hitting 110-115lbs. Today, I average about 141lbs, sometimes lower, sometimes higher depending on the time of day and amount of food I ate or work I did. This means that I am quite close to what is considered overweight, and that is what concerns me. I know for a fact my weight has nothing to do with building muscle because I've not even tried to build muscle. But I do know I've let myself eat poorly and not work it off, therefore causing these fats I've consumed to make a home in my body.

And I am depressed at the thought.
How could someone like me who thought it'd never happen to me end up looking like someone else in the mirror? I get it now. I am humbled now. I never understood weight issues. I used to eat whatever I wanted and endured many years of being told, "You're so skinny. You need to eat more. You don't understand how it feels to have to try on every single pair of jeans at the store." I've heard it all. And it's true. I didn't understand what it was like to have to always pull your pants up throughout the day because your thighs and bum made the jeans slowly slide down with movement. I didn't understand what it was like to not know your size and have to try on everything because guessing if it'll fit or not didn't work out. I didn't know what it was like to sit down and feel rolls of fat touching each other, or posing with your hand on your waist and feeling back fat twist and roll over.

I look at pictures 2-3 years ago and notice this significant change in not only my body, but my face too. I look back 6 years ago and feel like that body is long gone. I know she's not gone, I know she's just hiding under all my bad decisions, but she feels so completely far away...

We are all looking for people that we feel truly understand. And I know there's a girl who was once a size small out there struggling to squeeze into mediums or even larges now. I know there's a girl who hates her smile and could never afford to fix it. I know there's a girl out there who has never had smooth skin once acne ruined it in her teens. I know there's a girl out there who has no idea what step to take to fix any of it, especially her weight. I know I'm not the only one and I know I can help someone if I figure out how to help myself.
This is not who I am. This is not who I was or who I should be. This is the girl that stopped paying attention and let it all go. This is the girl who went through rejection, hurt, pain, and grief. This is the girl that stopped liking herself, stopped photographing herself, and stopped smiling back. This is the girl that doesn't deserve to be in my future.
I need a brand new start and I've yet to figure out how. But I'm confessing that I've lost myself. I'm confessing that I'm unhappy with who I see in the mirror. I'm confessing that I feel less than I should. I'm confessing I do not feel beautiful and I'm ready to find myself to feeling like true beauty again.
