Growing up on the heavier side of the weighing scale can be tough, be it being bullied in school to name-calling in college to even having to hear an ear full from the "cultural police", a.k.a the 'aunties' of my society.
Waking up everyday for school was never the problem for me but rather getting into those stitched school uniforms was what kept me up at night. What was more annoying was the fact that people presumed that my love for Pani-puris (gol-gappe) and chocolates was the reason I looked like the way I looked. Leaving that aside, I did my best to stay 'invisible' and chose clothes that did not make me feel good about myself.
It's only after the roller-coaster teenage years, that my good friends in college helped me realise that every individual is different and unique in their own way. It was a very slow realisation that people talked/talk to me for my personality but not for the way I look (though there were/are people who fall into the latter category). The journey to self-discovery was a long process (it's easier said than done) and my first step to finding my feet in the world of fast-fashion was Pantaloons.
I'm not just saying it for the purpose of saying it but because I found that in Pantaloons, there are clothes and in quotes "fashionable" clothes for plus-sized people. It started with buying one blouse which showed my warrior scars (also read as stretch marks), and went on to the level of a short dress that displayed my corpulence (also read as cellulite).
While it could be easy for a lot of people to pick clothes, it is so much more difficult for a lot of people to find the right clothes and feel "right" in them. For some, it could be crop-tops for some sleeves blouses and for some, it could be full-sleeved clothes. It is a feeling that actually cannot be described in words and I'm pretty sure that a lot of people will agree with me.
Now (finally when my brain cells decided to grow logically), when I have had my fair share of name-calling and being criticized for the way I look or how much I weigh, I have come to realize that it's not just my struggle/challenge. It is a struggle for everyone who is 'tagged' a certain way: too tall, too thin, too far, too short, too nerdy, too geeky, too fair, too dark, too talkative, too opinionated and what not! We need to realise that there is no point categorising or stereotyping people in any way. Accepting people and letting them be, is probably the first step amongst the many steps we need to take that would help us make the world a little better in our own ways.
To all those who call me fat- Oh yeah, man! I'm fat and super fabulous! ;)
