'I'm size 22 and was fat shamed for years - but now I'm happy with my body'
After university, I carried on gaining weight, living on sugary snacks and dressing in jeans and long tops to cover my body.with three friends.
Mortified, but trying to put on a brave face, I told my friend I was used to it. ‘But you shouldn’t have to be used to it,’ she replied gently. The messages I got in response were incredible: ‘You need to start modelling!’, ‘You rock!’, ‘Your confidence is encouraging!’ I’m single but dating at the moment, and I dress in bright colours and figure-hugging outfits. I wear whatever I want – why shouldn’t I?
Since childhood, much of the attention my body has received has been negative and sometimes cruel. It’s been a long journey to being able to ignore that and love myself for who I am. By secondary school, the height difference between me and my classmates was dramatic. While I’d reached my full height of 3ft 11in by the age of 11, they continued to grow. Luckily, it didn’t cause me health problems, but my joints would ache if I’d been on my feet for too long.
I couldn’t keep up with the latest styles. That made me feel embarrassed and was a reminder of how different I was. When I was 19 and on that holiday in Greece, I was determined to channel my new-found self-confidence. Instead of wearing a long-sleeved cover-up, I wore my swimsuit around the pool.After studying for a degree in youth and community work at the University of South Wales, graduating in 2020, I now work for a youth arts charity, speaking in schools and businesses about my condition and how it affects people with it.
In 2015, aged 20, I was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndromes , a group of inherited disorders that affect the connective tissues of the body – mainly the skin, joints and blood vessel walls. Over the years, I’ve had a number of tubes inserted into my body to feed me, drain my stomach, and assist with going to the loo, plus I also had a central line fitted to help administer medication and fluids.
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