I'll Be the One

by Lyla Lee

Being fat doesn’t make me any less of a person.

I’m fat and I take up space, but that’s okay, I tell myself, repeating one of the mantras I always say to myself in moments like this. I’m allowed to take up space just as much as anyone else.

Why should I have to stand up for myself all the time? Just because I’m fat doesn’t mean I have to let myself get hurt by these people over and over again. I’m not some spokesperson for all fat people, nor am I some martyr. I’m just one girl trying to achieve her dreams and live her own life.