Image source: https://yourbrilliance.com/loveyourbody/

I decided to speak up on body positivity, body shaming and bullying because l think that most people take them for granted and do not talk about them as much as they should. People all over the world, mostly teenagers, have problems with self-confidence, self-love and body positivity and are victims of body shaming and bullying in all possible ways. Most of them are struggling with it and are too afraid to speak up. That is why l decided talk about something many people cannot, do not want to or are too afraid to talk about. I am going speak from my heart and mind and express my opinion.

What is perfection?
I do not think that is an appropriate question at all. In my opinion, that should never be the question. But the fact is that too many people ask themselves that specific question and want to follow society’s view of perfection which changes all the time. I have always believed that people are born as they are for a reason, either that was god’s plan or destiny. By that I mean that you were born the way you were because those things strengthen you, break you in the future, you learn something from every single thing you do, from every single world you say and you start to respect and love yourself. Whenever you are feeling down, sad or not loved, take a deep breath, close your eyes and just whisper to yourself that everything is going to be okay and that this is only going to make you stronger.

I know that it is hard to do what people advise you when they try to help you and make you feel better but sometimes it is the best option. It is hard to just love yourself and have fun in your own body when there are people who are trying to convince you otherwise. I have never understood and I never will how even one person can be so mean, rude, disrespectful and insulting. Why is someone else’s body important to other people? How can some people ever give themselves the permission to insult, humiliate, disrespect anyone and treat them like trash? What happened to the world? Teenagers should be having fun instead of being locked in their rooms, they should wear long sleeves because they are cold not because they are trying to hide their scars, they should be thinking about having a wonderful happy life and not about ending it. The proof that the world has changed so badly is that people listen to total strangers who tell them how they should look and what they should believe in, they hurt themselves so badly that there is no end in it. But the biggest question here is HOW HAS IT COME THIS FAR? Nowadays, people are being judged by the clothes they are wearing, by the things they believe in, by their social status, by their body shape, their looks, etc. I think that somehow people started to believe that there is only one perfect body type, one perfect person, that if you do not have that, you are not good enough. I must say that it is sad, it is horrible, it is unbelievable and unrealistic that this is the world we live in. We should all think about the words we say, the things we do and think if we are hurting someone with them. People are who they are, they decide about their own life and no one has the right to tell them what to do with their body, what to change, we should all just live our lives happily without any insulting words and bullying.

We are on this earth with a reason, and each one has their own job to do. If you do not know yet what to do with your life or what your purpose is, you will discover it soon or later. Believe me that worrying about every single thing about ourselves is not going to make anything better, it is just going to make things worse and worse. So enjoy your life, you never know what is going to happen. Otherwise, you are going to regret the things you did not do but you should have done. So enjoy every little thing in your life, appreciate every small action and be you.

A Special note TO someone who is being bullied, body shamed or is insecure:
Hey!
How are you? I hope your enjoyed your day but if you didn’t trust me , tomorrow is going to be better. I just want you to know that no matter what happens, you are appreciated, loved, and most importantly, good enough. I love you and I know many others love you too. If you feel like your world if falling apart and there is no solution, trust me, you are wrong, there are many reasons you should fight for and many more to come. You have every reason to feel the way you are feeling right know but it will get better soon. You just have to go through this phase in your life because it makes you even stronger. You survived today and you can survive many more days. You have this, I believe in you. Do not care about others and their opinion, you are unique, you are talented and beautiful in every possible way, darling. Every person that is bothered by you is just jealous of you, wants to be like you, or is broken and is trying to feel better by hurting others. You can do this. Now go eat your favourite meal and drink some water or any other drink. Enjoy it and have fun. I love you! Xoxo
Lia Murko, 9.a