I used to think my body was a background character in my story. It did its job, showed up for camera calls, and then quietly retreated. Between 21 and 24 everything changed. A health scare showed up uninvited and with it came 60 pounds I never planned on carrying. For a long time that weight felt like a label I could not shake. It told stories about me that I did not recognize.
Those years were messy and honest and full of questions. Who am I when my body does not match the version of me I had in my head? How do I show up when my reflection feels like a stranger? I learned that weight is not just a number. It is a chapter in a bigger story about grief, fear, resilience, and the slow work of becoming yourself.
The journey back was not a straight line. It was therapy sessions, late night Google rabbit holes, doctors who listened, and friends who stayed. It was learning to move because my body wanted to move, not because I was punishing it. It was choosing food that nourished me and also tasted like joy. It was celebrating small wins and forgiving the days that felt like two steps back.
Today I am 60 plus pounds down and still discovering who I am. That sentence feels like a victory and a promise. Losing weight did not magically solve every insecurity. What changed was my relationship to myself. I stopped waiting for permission to wear what I wanted. I stopped shrinking to make other people comfortable. I started buying clothes that made me feel like the main character, even if the tag still said something I used to avoid.
There is a kind of freedom in learning to be comfortable in your own skin. It is not about perfection. It is about showing up for yourself with curiosity and a little sass. It is about telling your body thank you for carrying you through hard seasons and then asking it kindly to keep going with you. It is about wearing that bold color, that fitted jacket, that dress you thought was too loud, and realizing you were the one who needed to be louder.
If you are in the middle of your own messy chapter, know this. You are not behind. You are not less than. You are in progress and that is beautiful. Keep going. Keep choosing yourself. Keep wearing what you want, unapologetically.
