Autumn Rose

Regretting Chips and Salsa

When I was growing up, I didn't eat many chips. My mother would always make dinner and breakfast on weekends. She has raised many children and many at the same time, so I don't blame her anymore for not letting us snack a lot. Money was also always scarce so we appreciated what food we had, and made the most of it. Country cooking or southern homestyle cooking is what I grew up on always, so it was no surprise that by eighth grade, I was four foot nine inches and almost two hundred pounds. I also had braces and glasses simultaneously, but my weight was my biggest insecurity. I was fat shamed by my parents, stricken with negative comments about my body or the way I was made and even laughed at. Kids at school also made fun of me, but also bullied me in ways that made me uncomfortable, sexually. I was a child. A child with a growing body and the world is so terrible sometimes. I realize now as an adult, those bullies were heavily influenced by their parents and personal external circumstances. As an eight grader though, anticipating a new start at high school, I was not planning on being bullied to that level ever again.