Fat like a Sumo Wrestler

As a little girl, weight was never something that really crossed my mind. I was too busy worrying about where my sister had put my crayons or whether I should put on my Dorothy or princess dress after school. I was never a tiny girl, but I was normal height and weight for my age. I remember the first time that somebody told me that I was fat. We were sitting in the lunch room in second grade and this little boy across the table looked up at me and told me that "...if I kept eating all of my food, I was going to be fat like a sumo wrestler". Now in hindsight, this comment really wasn't all that hurtful to begin with, but this marked the first time that I was conscious of how I really looked, or so I thought. Soon after that, a very thin girl and I wore the same shirt and I couldn't help but compare how we looked. She was a good 4 inches taller than me, and a few pounds lighter, so the shirts obviously looked very different on both of us. After that, I never wore that shirt again.
Soon after that, I started becoming more conscious of my weight and how I looked and what I ate. At first it started to be just curiosity, but then I started to notice smaller details about how I looked different from all of the other girls, like how I had glasses and how I had a small gap in my front teeth, and the list goes on. I started to really analyze how I looked, and by third grade I was absolutely convinced that I was hideous. I started to become more reserved and say less because if I drew attention to myself then they would notice how I looked. Except for when I was on stage. I loved singing and acting and just being creative onstage because that was my place that I was invincible. I think my piano teacher saw this and encouraged me in this direction, always pushing me to explore my natural musical talent. During this time, I was also heavily involved in Girl Scouts which is just a terrific organization. I had a particularly motivated troop leader and we did everything under the sun, including things that supported positive body images for girls. I think that without music, my parents, and Girl Scouts, I would be a much different person, and probably even more insecure.
Fast forward to high school now. I was still just as insecure about my looks and body image, but since I saw my physical body as something to be ashamed of, I worked extra hard to be amazing musically and academically. I excelled in those areas, but I always thought that people were judging how I looked and how fat I was. I had had one boyfriend in middle school, but the boys were never flocking to be with me. High school was much of the same thing, a few platonic relationships that could have evolved into something more but I thought that I wasn't good enough for them. The first serious boyfriend I had called me beautiful once and I laughed. I thought that his compliment was one of those empty compliments that people say because it was expected of them. Hindsight, he didn't call me beautiful after that because I had embarrassed him when I laughed. But to me, the lack of compliments was validation that I was too fat to be beautiful. Sophomore and Junior year, I threw myself into academics and planning out my future for college and grad school. I seldom had time to sit and dwell on my body image because I was so busy with band, marching band, choir, musical, a part time job, academic quiz team, and babysitting. By the beginning of senior year, I started to be a little more confident in my body because the way I saw it was that I was stuck with it and might as well get used to it. At that point in my life, I had just accepted that I was never going to be 'beautiful', but I started to work out and try and at least make myself look good. My best friend at the time had started working out and he had lost a lot of weight and seemed much happier, so I decided to give it a shot.
Working out helped because I started to recognize that I can change how I look if I want to, and that I'm not 'stuck' with this body. Though I didn't drop a significant amount of weight, I started to realize some of the other issues with body image that I had. Going into college, I started to have a lot more confidence, but still had some problems. I would meet people at college that I would be bashful around because I thought they were too pretty to talk to me. In fact, my first thought about my roommate was that she was way too pretty to room with me.
As far as relationships, the very end of senior year I started dating that same best friend who motivated me to try working out so I could become more confident and secure. When he started calling me beautiful, I would always dissect the compliments like a mad scientist. If he said I looked beautiful, I would always blame it on new clothing, a good hair day, makeup, or when all else failed, that he was just saying that because he felt that he had to. It took a soul bearing session from him to convince me to at least accept the compliment because he said it because he meant it. Now, I'm not saying that dating fixes the situation, in fact, it sheds more light on some of the other personal issues that we all have. But, dating the right person and having them fight to tell you that you're beautiful definitely helps. However, you probably aren't reading this to hear about how happy I am in my relationship (for the record, I'm deliriously happy). What I'm saying is that a support system is absolutely key to coming to terms of what is a healthy body image.
I realized that I had always been holding on to that comment that the little boy made about me becoming fat, and taking that to heart, thinking that if he thought I was fat, everyone else did. I don't know why this comment affected me so much, but it did and I can't change the past. However, I started to realize that I was giving him the power of the situation when in fact, he probably doesn't even remember making that comment. Years of insecurity over one comment over 10 years ago.
SERIOUSLY?!
So at that point, I decided to change it. I started to stop comparing myself to others and my friends, because we all have issues. We all wish we could be a few pounds lighter, more toned, have nicer hair, whatever your thing is. My point is, don't give society the power of deciding what beautiful is.
You are beautiful.
You are enough.
It's time for you to believe it.

Death to the Planner

I am a planner by nature so most everything that I do, I do in a well thought out manner with plenty of backup plans available in the case that something should go awry. In most cases this is a good thing but this also means that I over-think everything and tend to suppress the beauty of spontaneity. However, I like to think I am a planner in recovery because I am slowly starting to just learn to not plan everything out before. College has been great for me to learn how wonderful it is not to have every minute planned out, and this weekend was a case in point. After hearing the live bands on campus perform and doing a hall activity, my roommate and best friend and I were all sitting in my room bored. We started to brainstorm of what to do the next day when one of us decided that we should take a day trip. This idea grew and suddenly it was 1 in the morning and we had just booked a hotel room in Gatlinburg, TN. At first I was exhilarated with the prospect of leaving campus, but then my planner mode kicked in and my brain started thinking of all the bad things that would happen because we hadn't planned out our trip. What if the hotel didn't actually us a room and we had to sleep in the car?! What if we ended up getting taken hostage because we were three adorable, non-menacing girls traveling alone?! What if I had plans this weekend that I forgot about? What if, what if, what if....

All of these things were swirling around my head when we left early that morning (Did I mention how early it was? It was ungodly early). Eventually I fell asleep because it was dark outside and much like a small child, I fall asleep easily in any vehicle. When I woke up, we were in the mountains, much different scenery from the flat monotony of Indiana scenery. At first, I panicked and then little voice in my head reminded me that this far into the trip it was too late to turn back.So because I didn't have a choice, I went with it. I gave up control and just went along for the ride. 

And you know what?

I didn't die.

I didn't have to sleep in the car and didn't get taken hostage or miss any meetings.

My world didn't implode. 

This trip was one of the best things that I could have done because it showed me that sometimes spontaneity is a wonderful thing. It was whirlwind, about 12 hours of driving and about 10 hours of shopping crammed into a day, but it was worth it. It was so much fun to just spend time with my best friends and enjoy life. I've started to realize that I don't need to micromanage life because in the wise words of Sweet Brown, Ain't nobody got time for that!

A Letter to the Greeks and the Supremacists

Hello! I wasn't planning on addressing such a controversial issue so early in my blog an event this week really got me thinking. To preface this, I am unaffiliated and I am confident in this decision. However, I do not have anything against Greek life. In fact, some of my best friends are Greek and I have no issues, jealousy, or animosity towards their decisions because it was what fit them. I go to a small private school where Greek life is huge, and when I went to college I was intent on joining a sorority. However, as I got to know the girls from each sorority and went to the recruitment events, I started to feel that perhaps this wasn't for me. While each of these girls were wonderful, I didn't really feel there was a house that I felt at home in. That coupled with the extreme cost of Greek life at my school solidified the decision for me not to rush.
Now, on to the real reason why I'm posting. Today while I was scrolling through my Facebook news feed I saw a status that someone Greek had said, "No matter the letter, Greeks do it better".
At first I didn't think much of this because this person is condescending on a regular basis to us peons who aren't living his life. However, the more that I thought about it, the more that I felt I had to say something. That statement is completely and utterly rude. Since when did joining a fraternity make you a better person than the rest of us all? I understand that Greek life offers a sense of community and opportunities for philanthropy and that can help create a well rounded person. But can't you be involved in philanthropic events and volunteer and meet new people without joining a fraternity? I take issue with this statement because it exemplifies a bigger mentality of superiority that is prevalent in today's society, and frankly, I'm sick of it. I don't care what race, gender, religion, sexual orientation,  or economic status you are. Every single person on the Earth is a living, breathing human being who has feelings and nothing, I repeat nothing, makes you better than them. You might drive nicer cars, have a more popular view of things, or a different lifestyle than people but we all are humans in the end. This sense of superiority has got to stop. So to the Greeks who are holding true to their ideals of love, honestly, friendship, and many of the other founding principles of Greek life, congratulations! I thank you for trying to make the world a better place, and keep on keeping on. But to those who view themselves better or above others, who think that by joining a social club they are entitled to believe themselves superior, Shame on you. My point at the end of this is that this belief in superiority has to stop. Think twice before posting and think three times before speaking. Remember that we are all humans just trying to make it through this unpredictable journey we call life, because as Sanctus Real says, we need each other through all the highs and lows of life.
Thanks for reading!

Salutations!

Salutations! This is my first blog post, so I'm a bit unsure of where to start but I have a lot to say! A little bit about me:

Much as the name suggests, I am definitely the eternal optimist, always trying to look on the bright side with all of my might. I am almost 20 and going to a lovely little liberal arts college in Indiana, but I am a Cincinnati girl through and through. I love the Reds, Music Hall, Skyline, UDF, and all the other wonderful things that are distinctly Cincinnati.This blog is about my innermost thoughts, life events, and anything else that this optimist faces in life. Hope you enjoy!