Prom season is quickly approaching, or for some people, it has already passed. My own prom is only a few weeks away and I am definitely not prepared. I have continuously put off buying a dress in hopes that I will shed a few pounds beforehand. I have dieted harder in the last three weeks than I have in my whole life and it only kept backfiring. The less I ate, the hungrier I was and I would find myself walking up at 3 a.m. and binging on anything I could get my hands on. That is how I ended up gaining 9 pounds right before prom. I had wanted to shed 6 and instead, broke my healthy streak, and gained 9.
I wish I could say that that was only me, but I know several girls who kick into “prom mode” and attempt to diet themselves into the dresses they bought. It’s really not a healthy routine, one can lose a few pounds and then gain that back immediately.
In addition, I had never felt more tired. Not eating as much as I needed to made be angry, hungry, and tired during all of my classes. It was hard to want to see my friends because I knew that we were going to eat sweet things and, I have a huge sweet tooth. I started eating more and more chocolate and candy as I felt more for gaining pounds, so I gained MORE pounds.
Prom gave me unrealistic ideas of what my body should look like and it sucked, and I know the same thing happens to so many other girls. There is so much hype built up on prom as it is seen as the make or break moment of a high school experience.
I wish that I, and all the other insecure prom goers, had enough confidence to believe we didn’t need to change for prom. We are already so perfect and amazing in the shape that we inhibit that attempting to alter our bodies is just wrong.
My body is my home, it is where my soul lives and grows and learns and cries and laughs. My body deserves to be respected and loved in all occasions. Including prom.
