Fat Talk : (

I've spent the past few weeks reading about body image. As a college-aged woman, my body is definitely something I think about a lot. I worry about health issues, my tan lines, those persistently jiggly bits, future wrinkles, my complexion-- you name it, I worry about it.

Living on my own has helped me to learn many lessons about myself:

I cannot keep cookies in my room.
When my mom's not here to force me to eat vegetables, I don't.
Even though I feel gross after a run, the sweat is kind of the point.
I have to work hard not to compare myself to other girls.

This last point has been my most difficult. My freshman year, I moved into an all-girl's dorm and my roommate was a gorgeous, fit, tan softball player, Scooter. She was the most wonderful roommate I could have asked for, but sometimes I felt plain old frumpy next to her. I had to keep reminding myself that although I would never look just like her (she's about six inches shorter than me), I still had beautiful things about me. Trust me, it was tough.

About a year ago, I joined the Tri Delta chapter at my school. This meant that I began spending hours and hours every week with some of the most breath-takingly gorgeous girls I had seen in my life! Talk about an inferiority complex! It seemed like every single girl was tan, thin, great hair, great skin, and completely confident. I felt like a little pudgy mouse compared to all of them. However, these girls became some of my greatest supporters in finding my own beauty. My sorority sisters strive to eat healthy, not to "diet." They work out in groups so that it's more fun. And they never let another sister put herself down. In fact, Tri Delta helped to found the National Fat Talk Free Week, where girls strive not to "fat talk" themselves or allow others to do it.

I was so inspired by Fat Talk Free Week, that I decided to use it to help out the freshmen girls I was mentoring. Every day that week, I sent them a text message that I hoped would make them smile and feel beautiful. I'm pretty sure that those positives texts helped me even more than they helped them. By looking for the beauty in my students, I was able to find beauty in myself. By teaching them about virtue and character and inner beauty, I learned about those things myself.

Take some time this week to find all the things about yourself that are beautiful. Your smile, your arms, the way your eyes light up when you are with your significant other. I know you're beautiful, and I want you to know it too. Share the love to, and show your friends how beautiful they are. You'll feel better too!