ESPERANTO
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall
Love exists.
WORDS BY Andrea Selvarajah @andrealashini
In so many ways, I was visibly and invisibly different to my friends. We expressed ourselves differently, we were passionate about different things and we didn’t always share the same goals. On top of that, I also came from a different background. I have a darker skin tone, was slightly hairier, and now, also different thanks to the size of my thighs.
ART BY Sophie McKenzie-Stripp @sophiemcks
In year eight, I was extremely confident, but more importantly I was in love. It was with a pimple-faced, scrawny, pre-pubescent boy who wanted to be an actor. One day, I remember sitting with my legs crossed on the floor with my friends when he looked down and said, “you have fat thighs.” This comment haunted me. I was 14 years old, already insecure about my legs, and now I had his voice replaying in my head for all the wrong reasons. The confidence I had arguably built in middle school came crumbling down in an instant, and the love I thought I knew, just didn’t exist anymore.
I began watching weight loss videos that night, and naturally, I started with Jillian Michaels’ Killer Buns and Thighs routine. I wanted to change my body because I felt it was the only thing I could control. However, sadly, it didn’t pan out the way I thought it would.
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