How far I've come

I only found the body positive community in February and I have to say, it might be one of the best things I ever did, embracing it and what it stands for has really changed my life, in many ways.

Firstly I have made some great friends within this community and I can't wait to meet them in person at up coming events.

Secondly I have found my passion for fashion, before i seen clothes as slightly functional, i liked to cover up a bit and try and hide my body, I was ashamed of my body and what it stood for in society and it made me feel like a failure, my friends were all skinny and it made me think i didn't fit it and that people were always judging me.

Thirdly, it has led to be doing a PhD in this area, such a huge step in my life, I am going to be spending 4 years writing and researching on the Fatosphere, I will become a leading authority on the area (within my Marketing discipline) and then hope to make a career of lecturing on this subject once I complete my Phd.

And finally, I am now proud of my body and size, I teach seminars as part of my PhD, I talk to my students (people aged between 19 and 22, people who are often the ones who believe skinny is best and buy into the media's image of what is beautiful) about being Plus Size and the effect that has on consumers, I talk about me being Plus Size and how that had led to my research, I have even shared with them some of my very personal writings on the topic. I engage in discussion about Plus Size with other PhD's who want to know more about what i'm doing, this also extends to other academics and people in my every day life. I feel that I am educating people about an issue they knew nothing about. A girl who a year ago was so ashamed of herself she wouldn't stand up in front of a room of people, I cut the size tags out of my clothes so they wouldn't betray me, now I wear my plus size and fat badge with pride and honour