"Ever since I can rememberI was told that skinnyis a good thing, that the lessyou have on your..."

“Ever since I can remember

I was told that skinny

is a good thing, that the less

you have on your bones

the better. But I never once

thought that thin was

the only kind of beautiful.

I was either too small

or too lucky. “Eat a burger,”

my brothers would say to me

while I was showing my mother

my new swimsuit. ” You look

like you’re 10, like you have

yet to hit puberty.” But before

I could tell them that I was

envious of the way my sisters

hips filled out her jeans,

or how she had to wear

a C cup, I was convinced

that being called a grain of rice

was a compliment.

When I was 12 years old

none of the boys in my class

ever looked at me as a woman

but as the small girl

who still looked like their

little sister. In gym class

my friends would flaunt

their breasts that rested inside

of their new bra, and when

I would ask where they

bought it, they would laugh

and tell me that they would

tell me in a couple of years,

or when my body finally

reached my age. Ever since

I can remember I was told

that being skinny is a good thing,

that one day I will be

thankful for the lack of skin

that covers my bones.

But now I am almost 22

and still I do not thank my skin

for never catching up

to the way I have always

wished my body could be.”

- "At least you’ll never have to worry about your weight," - Colleen Brown