School Days

I saw this picture back from  my school days on Facebook.  I can remember when this picture was taken.  I was a member of the track team.  Seriously.  I laugh about it now cuz I HATE. TO. RUN.  I mostly did hurdles and jumps, although I was a member of a couple of relay teams.  I was always the 3rd runner.  The slow one.

Can you pick me out in this picture?

When this picture was taken, I was in Junior High school on the JV squad.  Like the 80′s hairstyles?  I did.  I loved all the hair and all the fluff I had…  My hair is much less than it used to be, so that is one thing I’d like to take back.

Something came to my mind when I looked at this picture.  I can remember feeling SO FAT at this age.  Look at me.  I’m not fat.  I’m not even chubby.  I’d had a growth spurt and had 2 little stretch marks on one of my thighs.  I knew stretch marks came from pregnancy and gaining weight.  I didn’t know that they came from growth spurts.

I wrongly assumed that I was a humongous elephant compared to the rest of the girls I knew.

And there it is.  That NASTY word:  Compared.

I held myself up to the unreasonable standard of looking like everybody else.  I had not only developed really early, which made me stand out in the class, but now I assumed that I was some kind of gargantuan girl and that my differences were horrible detractions from my attractiveness.  I still had friends – I still had good friends – but rather than realizing my differences were just part of who I am, I saw them as disfigurements.

Body Image is not something to ignore.  I didn’t tell anyone I felt that way – it was too humiliating.  Saying it out loud would have only validated the point in my head.  And I carried the idea around for a really long time, sadly.

Now that I’m almost twice that size, I have a much healthier body image, and a less healthier body.  But it’s something I can work on because my inner voice is clearer and wiser…

Oh, and I’m the one in the back row, 2nd from the right…  Yep, that’s me in the middle back there…

About Debbie T

Welcome to my blog. Grab a latte and settle in for a good read! I'm Debbie - aka The Queen Mommy. I'm really just a Right-Brained woman who loves God, her husband, and her three children. I This means I'd rather write than clean... I enjoy writing about family & home, faith & life, marriage & parenting, food & addiction. I do participate in affiliate programs and use affiliate links and graphics throughout my blog. If you follow a link and make a purchase, I may make a small commission to help support my family at home. Click here for my Disclosure Policy.

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