I was at a job interview at a media house, anxious and fully prepared because I had always dreamt of being a T.V personality. I stepped into the office and all eyes were on me, I felt my dress was off the hook, went in with full confidence and hope.

On getting inside, without even asking for my name or asking to see my CV, I was denied the job, when I asked for a reason; they couldn’t give me any, except that I would require two seats and a table. I was surprised and demanded a clearer explanation, without caring about my feelings the interviewer told me that, if I had left some pounds outside I would have gotten the job. When has size become an essential credential for acquiring a job? When did intellect and size start sharing equal percentages? 

It’s really upsetting when you try to convince people, that your weight has nothing to do with your brains. I feel you shouldn’t be judged by the size of your jeans but by the size of what you have to offer. Unfortunately, in our world today, it’s a common saying that, big or fat people cannot take the center stage.

There is this look you get when you walk past people, they either stare at you disgustingly or laugh at you, mock you or even insult you for being fat. I wonder why people opt for fat people, especially fat girls out of the world. Fat or big doesn’t mean you cannot do what other people can do, it probably means you have bigger dreams, all you have to do is get up and own it.

The truth is, as a fat girl, you have little or no chance of having friends because no one wants to hang around with a big girl, everyone wants a skinny one. One they can relate with easily without having to hear her breath loudly. But, who knows what those really skinny girls go through, just to get fit. I mean, when we all die, the coffin wouldn’t care if you are skinny or fat, so why do we have to discriminate and segregate.

During my school days, I used to feel very uncomfortable, I had little confidence in myself. People called me fat, big, all sort of names. Initially, I used to be the really quiet type because of my size, I was a victim of circumstance, I did all sorts of exercises, tried my best to lose a little bit of weight.

But then I was inspired by Queen Latifat who said in her movie “when you are called fat, turn it around, feel good about it, because you are pretty, hot and tempting (PHAT)”. I have been using that against those who called me fat, and it has really helped me greatly. You should use that too.

Well, this is to all the fat ladies out there, you can be whoever you want to be, fat or thin, have fun and love yourself. When you hear people call you fat, don’t feel bad, because when you do it decreases your self-esteem, and as a lady you wouldn’t want to lose that, we don’t want “them boys” to step on us. You might be thinking, “how can I be fat and still be happy”? It’s possible, you have your pen, write your way to your happiness, I for one am happy being fat, big or chubby as they say. 

My advice is, don’t listen to what people say because if you do, then you are giving them the keys to your world and that means they would have the power to control you however they want, in any direction and at any given time. Do things that make you extra happy and don’t ever let your size dictate who you really are, you are you for a reason.

Fat, big or chubby, you have a purpose in life; don’t let your size get in the way. And in case you want to lose weight, do it because you feel like it, not because you feel intimidated. Always wear clothes that say “i am fat so?”.