Feeling Like you Don’t Belong…
I think we all go through life feeling out of place. Whether it’s where you lived, the clothes you wore, your weight, or that one thing you did that one time that just followed you, there’s something in our past that makes us feel small and bad about ourselves when we think back on it.
You’re not the only one. I know how it feels, I was that same way. For me, it’s always been my weight and body image.
Some of you know my story, but for those of you that don’t, I was the chubby kid. I was always overweight when I was younger and well into my 20’s where I got up to being 100 pounds overweight.
I remember the first time that I felt out of place and that I didn’t belong because of it. It was so humiliating and isolating that I still remember it vividly to this day almost thirty years later.
I’ve lost the weight and kept it off, but that feeling of worthlessness didn’t go away. It stayed in the pit of my stomach. I still saw that same chubby kid when I looked in a mirror and it took me a long time to see me for who I truly am.
One thing I want to stress to all of you is that you’re not alone. You’re not the only one that went through what you went through all those years ago.
Your story matters. Your story has power. What makes you “different” is something that someone needs to hear about so that they know they’re not alone and they can have hope that one day, it’ll all be in their rearview.
So you know my story, what’s yours?