My body is not defined by how others see it.

My mother has had me on a diet since I was 8. The South Beach Diet specifically (because what else helps little girls maintain their figures), and many crash diets to follow that. I never quite understood what it meant to be in my own skin. I was always fantasizing about “fixing” myself because somehow fat meant broken. I went so far as to get a gastric bypass, thinking that thin would fix everything.....

I was warned

I’ve always been big, both fat and tall, since I was a kid. Being the fattest and tallest in my class was normal for me. Starting in third grade I was already taller (and fatter) than my teachers....