Can you keep a secret? I haven’t told anyone this, but when I was growing up I had a hard time. I was unhappy with my size, felt like I was ugly, was scared to approach girls, and up until my junior year of high school, thought I was going to die alone and unhappy. I felt like I was never going to have someone care about me like my parent’s did.
I was miserable anytime I saw my friends getting all the girls, and had a hard time looking at myself in the mirror because I was so disgusted with what I saw.
Like other people uncomfortable with their bodies, I turned to making jokes at my own expense so others would accept me.
However, time has a way of healing all wounds. I started hanging out with some other pleasantly plump gentlemen, who were a lot bigger than me, and began to get more comfortable with my appearance and size as a result. They carried themselves with confidence and didn’t care what others thought about them. (Like any respected group you have to have a name. We found it fitting to have two names: F.B.I -Fat Boys Incorporated, and “328,” which spells out FAT on phones.)
My confidence grew, and by my senior year I was getting all the girls. I was so happy with myself that I wrote a song about being big.
The chorus goes, “Forget them skinny boys man, I thought you knew it’s a new era fat boy’s run the schools.” I didn’t use those exact words but you get the idea. The song was accompanied by a dance and we also did a remix!
I don’t know if you are old enough to remember when McDonald’s was trying to get rid of the super size, a few years back (I wouldn’t expect you to), but the founding members of the F.B.I. decided to do something about it. We came up with a petition and got enough members in the community to sign it so our local McDonald’s would continue to serve the super size!
As college student’s we need to stop being worried about what others think about us and start focusing on making ourselves happy.
It’s OK and beautiful to be big, small, tall or short, but if you’re not comfortable with yourself how can you expect someone else to be comfortable with you? If a person you like doesn’t like you it’s OK because there’s someone for everyone-especially the fellas on campus!
I love myself and don’t think God could have done a better job creating anyone else. I wouldn’t change any of my negative experiences. I learned that every person has something unique that makes them special. Mine are my eyes, personality and dimples. It may be different for you, but everyone is unique!
By the way, the McDonald’s story was a joke, but promise not to tell anybody!
Royle King is a sophomore newspaper journalism student from Dallas. He can be reached at royleking_@hotmail.com.