Every BODY is beautiful.

All through out high school and college, I really struggled with my weight and accepting my body. I've always wanted to be under a 100lbs. Keep in my mind I have not been under 100lbs since I was in middle school. I was really into sports and a healthy lifestyle so I had too much muscle to be that thin. But I still wanted it, because I thought that was what would make me beautiful.

I don't know how much I weigh now but I know for sure - it isn't close to 100lbs. I just stopped weighing myself. The number and size doesn't matter. How you feel matters and you should feel great in your skin and your body. 

In the states I feel like I'm generally still on the smaller side but when I go to Asia, I'm definitely considered large. I know this may seem shocking - it was for me as well. But it's just different cultural standards. Every time I want to work in Asia, I'm told I need to lose at least 40lbs. I physically can't do it and I don't think that's healthy for my body type and frame. I have friends who are rail thin and they eat as much as I do. So it's not about how much or little you eat or how often you work out. Everyone has a different body type. You need to embrace yours and figure out what works for you. I know starving -- doesn't work for me. 

Don't squeeze into a 25 skinny jean if it gives you muffin top and you can't breathe. Find a pair that fits your body and compliments your shape. I'm normally a 26 but in some stores I wear up to a 28 if they run small. I don't think that means I got fat, it's just a number. Some brands I'm an XS and others I'm a M, sometimes I'm a 2 and sometimes I'm a 4. We have all these numbers and labels we look at that constantly force us to judge our bodies. But no one really cares but you. Being a size 0 isn't going to bring you more love. 

I know it's hard not to compare ourselves to the people we follow or see on a daily basis on our feeds. But try not to judge others and yourself. Just enjoy it for what it is, a picture. It's okay to admire for a moment, I do all the time. "Wow, she's so skinny... she's so tall... she's so perfect". But to someone else she might be too skinny or too tall. No one is perfect. Everyone has a different ideal of beauty and you have to accept yourself as beautiful first before anyone else can. 

Dress Wow Couture, Faux Fur Jacket OTT Dubai

Photography by Raul Romo
Styling by Katie Qian
Make up & Hair by Francie Tomalonis
Bts by Eunice Lee