Ladies, it’s time we’re proud of our Freshman 15

It’s time to be that model for girls who are younger than us


According to National Institute on Media and the Family, 53 percent of American 13-year-old girls are “unhappy with their bodies” – this grows to 78 percent by the time they reach the age of 17.

I look at my niece who’s 11 years old and I see myself in her, which upsets me. She’s intelligent and beautiful but lacks the confidence I desperately needed at her age. This confidence would have saved me from feeling ashamed of my own body and secretly wishing that one day I would look like a model in a magazine.

My eating habits were shameful and my family’s remarks on my weight gain throughout my stages of puberty only made it worse. In high school girls were in an ongoing secret competition of who looked better which gave me the worst body issues. Then reality hit me and I asked myself why am I doing this and what will happen when both of my nieces reach my age?

I went through a “normal” life, but it wasn’t all that it seemed – I wasn’t happy or pleased with everything I had. I was miserable, covered in makeup that I didn’t know how to use, and had the constant thought that a few hours of feeling beautiful was good enough.

I would fake a smile that would perfectly make it easy to fly throughout high school. My Oscar-worthy performance of the bubbly, girl next door persona went very well until I got to college .

Suddenly I couldn’t do it anymore.

After being ashamed of my own body for so long I decided to not feel ashamed of the Freshman 15 I gained. I refuse to lose the curves I earned after working my ass off during my first two semesters of college.

I’m exhausted of needing to look a certain way or be part of the joke that “After high school, you’ll see who got fat.” It’s time to be that model for girls who are younger than us, like my niece, who are growing up with images of what society tells them is beautiful these days.

I can proudly say that after gaining my Freshman 15, I finally feel like a woman. Women are meant to feel empowered right? Well, I feel extremely empowered knowing my curves are part of me now. I refuse to apologize for loving the junk in my trunk, there I said it! It’s 2016 and women should be able to say that they love themselves at any shape.

In Dove’s Body Confidence Mission, they report that 81 percent of 10-year-old girls in the U.S. are afraid of being fat. I repeat, they are AFRAID of being fat. When I was 10, I was the girl who wouldn’t be able to wear a tight shirt unless my belly was flat, I was the girl who was afraid that no one would like an overweight girl, I was the girl who didn’t like the girl who was staring at her in the mirror.

We are the ones who can change this statistic. We can show young girls that our bodies are sexy at any shape. I look at my weight gain and it’s the reminder of where I am today. I’ve seen girls my age ridicule others online because they look heavier on Instagram and I’m truly amazed women are the ones who put other women down; it’s like we have to be negative towards each other rather than pointing out our best qualities. We have to realize that criticizing someone over their weight contributes to the issues that young girls will grow up with for years to come.

One of my guy friends said, “Looks won’t last forever Gail, it’s what in the inside.” I was always worried of not being loved because of my insecurities and here was a guy who proved me wrong in so many ways. Trust me when I say this, but if we’re patient enough, we might meet a person who will make us see something we were too blind to see. Until then, be the person that you’ve always needed.

When I think about my freshman year, I can’t help but smile at all the struggles and blessings I’ve been through. I’m glad life took me on the hardest journey; it made every tear, insecurity, and doubt worth it. I truly love who I am, 15 pounds heavier and a little wiser than before.

Shakira once said, “I can’t wait for the time when curves and a little belly fat will be sexy again.” I don’t know about you, but I think the year 2016 is the perfect year to finally embrace our bodies for what they are, and not for what they are not.