A friend posted an article on social media yesterday that really hit home and drove me crazy all at the same freakin’ time. Honestly, I loved parts of it. But the rest got me all kinds of fired up.

It was all about how women should accept themselves the way they are at the beginning of each year, and decide to love themselves instead of putting any focus on changing, or (gasp!) resolutions. Which, in theory, is an absolutely WONDERFUL idea.

…In a perfect world.

Because unless you’ve actually been the chubby little girl getting picked on for being the first girl to have to wear a bra in her class.

Or the young adult going to bed at night and praying she looked like her skinny best friends when she woke up in the morning.

Or the grown woman wearing a size 26 and completely ashamed to look in the mirror…

DON’T tell me to stop wanting to change myself.

I know I’m a good, kind-hearted person on the inside. I try my hardest to be the best mom and wife I can be. I work hard in my business to help people and make an honest difference in their lives every. single. day. There isn’t a thing about any of those qualities in myself that I would change.

But does that mean I shouldn’t have a desire to change my outward appearance? To make ME feel more beautiful?

We could start the conversation about society and it’s pressures and unrealistic expectations that it puts on women and blah bitty blah blah blah. We ALL know that’s a serious issue, and I don’t mean to minimize it. But is that changing anytime soon? Nope.

Are kids getting less vicious with bullying? Nope.

Is the world of social media and magazine covers with crazy photo-shopping making things any easier? Nope.

But when it comes right down to it, I don’t want to change me for any of THEM, I want to do it for ME. For my family. To be able to run around and play with my kids and not get winded. To not develop any medical issues due to my weight that could keep me from spending as many years with them as possible.

There are PLENTY of things I wouldn’t change about myself.

My weight just isn’t one of them.