Weight Doesn't Define Who We Are
My eyes slowly open, the light shining at me through the window. A natural alarm clock acknowledging the start of a new day. Placing one foot then the next onto the cold hardwood floor, I walk half asleep like a zombie into the bathroom. Stepping onto my scale, white with black trim around the magical number block, as if pulling the arm on a slot machine and hoping to hit the winning numbers. I look once then twice, stepping off and back onto the scale to verify the results.
I see an acquaintance at the grocery store, the first words flowing from her mouth, you are lucky to be so thin. She continues with her struggles to lose weight. Telling me about a relative, who advises her not to worry about her weight because once you hit fifty years old, she will never lose any weight. I inform Sarah that it is not luck, I exercise six days a week and eat nutritionally healthy foods. I continue to tell Sarah that being thin doesn’t make one happy. One still struggles with issues as everyone else, despite what the number on the scale reads. The number on the scale doesn’t lessen the heaviness that one carries, often feeling like fifty-pound weights on each shoulder.
The scale doesn’t dictate who you are as a person. As a society, one only sees the outer shell of who we are, thin or not. They aren't able to see deep into our soul, the light and sometimes darkness that lurks beneath. Lose weight to be a healthier you, not so society will see a new version of your outer shell.