Friday, August 21, 2009

On being plus size....

Being plus size is not new to me. I don't remember a time in all of my 22 years that i was ever "lepa". I've kinda gotten immune to all the taunts and jests. If I am walking down the road and I hear sumone shout "orobo", I instinctively turn around to see if it's me they are calling. High school was the worst hit; I could not eat or drink anything in peace, true I was growing in astronomical proportions, but no be me now, na God! People would always give me grief and attack me saying stuff like: 'no wonder you are fat' or 'that is not good for you'. Come to think of it, I guess this is why till date, I rarely eat in public and I am totally uncomfortable when I do. I earned the name "ofili ganga", she was a character in Naija movies (yoruba ones). This woman is huge, monstrous, enormous (you get my drift). So u can imagine the horror when a boy in my class called me that name, I was mortified, I told myself "lai lai, this kind of nickname cannot stick". In panic, I went to the principal's office to lodge a complaint thinking he was going to call them to order but Alas! The next time the principal came to our class, he started off by asking 'where is ofili?' That was how I bore the name throughout high school and beyond. Honestly, I used to be bothered but not anymore. I believe that it's the quality of life we live that matters. Imagine when I die and on my headstone, they write "Here lies a skinny shapely girl, her curves will be greatly missed" WTH? I am not the poster child for obesity but I think there is a reason we were not all created the same. Imagine If everyone was tall, darkskinned and had a slim build, Imagine some 6 billion of us the same way, that would be boring. Variety is indeed the spice of life. So I am here for your entertainment. I remember all my attempts at losing weight; dieting, starving and going to the gym. At first, I would go to the gym and work out religiously but days into the programm, I tire. Instead I now started watching the other people and would say to myself "I'm not as fat as these people jor, abeg free me". I remember this slim chic at the gym then, I used to wonder what she was doing there, going up and down with her skinny self and making people like me feel bad, even when I learnt that she had a heart condition that required her to exercise, I still used to beef the poor girl o! She would try to talk to me and I'll be giving her attitude. Looking back now, I just laugh and ask myself: na she send me? I also had this boyfriend then who used to scare me as in dude literally put the fear of God in me. He would quote statistics on how most women who had complications during childbirth were plus size, how I was prone to heart conditions, diabetes, bla bla bla. Well, suffice to say, that was the beginning of the end of the relationship. It took me a while but I have accepted myself for who I am and that is Big, Bold & Beautiful. If you minus the hassles it takes to get clothes that fit, the times when bus conductors will ask me to pay for double seats and okada men will be glancing furtively between me and their tires and finally zoom off..... (ok, the last 2 examples have never happened but I always have nighmares about them), being plus size is really no biggie.

17 comments:

  1. First! Yay i've never been first. Thank u sumptuos! I've been refreshing my blogger waitin on some1 to post smth

    Skinny, lepa, fat, orobo, dark, fair, tall, short, we all wanna be smth else! I struggled with weight issues too. Wanted to be more voluptuos than my size 6 self. drank malt and milk, cerelac and all wat not. mayb cos i have siblings on the big side (who all want to be my size btw) Then ppl reassuring me o dont wori by the time u have kids u'll be fat(Someone evn said o dont worry u'll grow into those boobs, Imagine!).

    It just got tiring jare and i gave up. I'm learning to love myself as i am. my point is we all wanna be wat we think is the norm and forget that its the case of the proverbial green grass!

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  2. Neo, u must have been stalkin blogger o! Well congrats. I wanted to say "I'm glad I'm ur first" but it sounds corny so I'm not saying it again (lol). Growing into boobs? I've never heard dat one. We human beings sef? I just wish I could take back the time i wasted sweating the small stuff.

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  4. u complain about getting clothes, me self hate d way i'm skinny o! getting a size 0 dt wud fit is qualms....we all wanna b sum1else.

    I'm just tired of complaining and failed attempts to alter my God-given figure....we get tired someday

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  5. Rene, yes we do get tired coz we realise : It doesn't really matter

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  6. lol...getting clothes?
    im a size 0 and i went to the shop yesterday and i tested their size 0 and it was loose on me and the stupid woman asked me..'are you anorexic?'..and tired of stupid people.
    and p.s:people exercise to remain healthy.

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  7. What? Guess dat makes u a size -1. And did dat women actually expect an answer? P.s: I am totally in support of exercising to keep fit, but when you do it for the weight, not much fun.

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  9. abeg nothing do you jo. B cube (big, bold and beautiful). i like that :)

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  10. I cant believe the principal also called you that..wtf? I like your attitude jare! Thanks for stopping by :)

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  11. O yes he did. Looking back now, I thinks that's unethical (maybe I should sue. Thanks.

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  12. that does not stop you from being fit sha!

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  13. We don't all have to be skinny just work out and stay fit. It is important.

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  14. You go girl! I love this post! I love your spirit and your energy towards to whole thing.

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