Changes

As proponents for a wider definition of beauty, at times many of us forget that the pressure is always there -- no matter what size jeans you wear, or what generation you are. We have a tendency to bash "skinny" girls and embrace the curvy but I urge all of you to embrace ALL body types, even those the media is projecting! What we need to learn to do is promote healthy bodies... a meaning that is different for each of us.

In my junior year of high school I peaked somewhere around 180lbs. Since then, I've lost a lot of weight -- mostly through changes in what I eat (but not dieting or starving) and increased physical activity (where I come from, you drive to go sit somewhere... in college, I'm constantly walking). I used to think if I could ONLY get down to 120lbs, my world would be perfect. This past summer I caught the flu and was sick in bed for a couple days, unable to eat/hold anything down. While I didn't reach my 120 "goal," I did get closer than I ever had.., loosing almost 10lbs while under the weather. Looking in the mirror, I cringed. I looked weak, breakable. Going to sleep at night was difficult as my bony knees sharply stabbed each other.

I wondered what had happened. I see girls all the time who look healthy and athletic at 120, instead of the sad, pathetic look I carried for a week while I tried to gain it all back. It was then I had an epiphany -- the number REALLY, TRULY IS NOT IMPORTANT. Your 'best' body, is bound to be very different than MY 'best' body... and that's completely okay and normal! What's important is the size YOU feel best. My current weight has been about the same for a while now, and I'm happy with it. I'm also extremely happy because it's the HEALTHIEST I've ever been. My newly made friends don't think of me like my high school friends did: always sick, searching WebMd for some clue to what was so perpetually wrong with me.

We have a tendency to believe that whatever works for everyone else will work for us -- clothes, guys, and the number on the scale. The truth is, it's probably the same reason I don't buy one-size-fits-all clothing... sure, I get that it does fit all... but if it's not going to fit FABULOUSLY, what's the point?

Dani Drazin

Creative Director