I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with my body. Growing up, I was always the bigger kid in class, both in height and weight. As a child, I never really cared too much about it, even in the scenarios where I was picked on for being chubby. Sometimes it hurt, and sometimes it didn’t. But you don’t really ponder that too much when you’re a kid.

But then you get older, and the way you think about yourself and your appearance changes. You start caring more about things such as the way you dress, the way your hair looks, and especially whether you look too fat or too thin. 

As a result, this change in mentality tends to affect the way we treat our bodies, and a lot of the time, it’s negative treatment. We starve ourselves to look like celebrities and models who have near-impossible standards to reach. We change everything somebody might love about us to fit a mold that was broken long ago.

I don’t always take the time I probably should to properly take care of my body. Now, I don’t completely accept the blame for that because of how hectic my schedule is. In addition to being a full-time student, I still have an internship, a part-time job at a bowling alley, and now this new role I’ve taken on as news and photography editor for The Whit.

Already, any free time I’ve been able to come across has been pretty scarce. So when I do get the chance to decompress, to just exist by myself without having to worry about having something to do or somewhere to be, I don’t really think twice about making sure I’m eating right or worry about if I can or can’t spare an hour to go to the gym or, at the very least, go on a walk. And I doubt that I’m alone in that space.

We’re college students. Some of us are a lot farther from home than others, and that can also play a role in the way we behave when we’re away. We don’t always have access to proper nutrition, things to do, or places to go. It’s harmful at times, physically and mentally, and the body pays the price.

But regardless of age or whatever place you may be in life, everyone is going to have their own issues with the way their bodies look. Of course, there’s emphasis here on those closer to me in age, but insecurity and anxiety are timeless. They also aren’t exclusive. Sometimes, they’re at the forefront of all of our problems, but they don’t last forever.

It’s hard at times to make the time to take care of your body, but any little bit of attention matters. Eating more than a snack or a single meal in a day, going outside and walking for a little bit, or even taking a nap at some point in the day if you aren’t sleeping properly matters. Overall, your physical health matters. And you matter, too.

I still struggle with feeling insecure about my body every now and then, and I know that I’m not alone. But at the end of the day, we’ve all been given these vessels. As humans, we come in all different shapes and sizes. Our bodies, no matter how different they may appear to be and no matter how much of a toll time has taken on them, are absolutely beautiful. So treat them well.

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