Beyonce has an obsession with the number 4. She was born on September 4th. Her mother was born on January 4th and her husband was born on December 4th. They were married on April 4th, 2008. I am a huge Beyonce fan so naturally my blog for Day 4 of the Diet Bet is dedicated to my Queen, Beyonce!
Any song celebrating a woman’s curves is my jam! Songs such as “Brick House,” “She’s A Bad Mama Jama,” and even “I Like Big Butts” :) - if these songs are on the radio, the speakers in my car are turned up! I especially love the lyric in “Brick House” where The Commodores sing the measurements of a woman “36-24-36” - in my head, “36-24-36” is a shout out to me and all curvy women. On a side note, I wondered today what my measurements are: 36-27-45. A “brick house” with a little bit more bass!
11 years ago, I felt the complete opposite about my figure. The years around the age of 14 is an awkward transition for most, but it seemed my transition was on steroids! The summer before I started high school, I had grown to a tower of 6 feet tall and my slender ballerina body turned into a “brick house” - I went from a size 8 to a 12 pant size and I started wearing a C cup.
In my high school, if you do not fit in, you were bullied. As a 6 foot tall 14 year old, I literally did not fit in. Some instances of the bullying are laughable now, such as being called Big Bird in the hallway. However, the worst was when a group of girls wrote “HIPS” in blue bold letters on my locker.
I remember feeling heart broken and humiliated. Reacting or retaliating would have given what the girls were hoping for, so I pretended nothing was wrong - I just packed up my things, went home, and turned on VH1 to escape. I will never forget it: Beyonce’s “Crazy In Love” music video came on the television - it was fate. She was exactly what I needed to see, curves and all, strutting down the street and doing the “uh-oh” dance. Women are curvy, Beyonce is curvy, I am curvy! I love Beyonce: her music, her drive, and especially for being curvy in an industry that pressures women to be thin.
Looking back, I have no idea what those mean girls were thinking in trying to make me feel worse about my body, but through the experience, I’ve learned to embrace who I am and to always have a sense of self.
Shaun T has a new podcast entitled “Define Your Life” and I highly recommend it! The more time with his positive and contagious spirt, the better! In the middle of his first episode, he talked about embracing your uniqueness, and he asks, “What do you love about yourself?” It's funny how my answer to this question has changed over the years. 11 years ago, I would have said that my curves are what I hate the most about myself, today, I am “Crazy In Love” with my curves ;)
Congratulations on Day 4 of the Diet Bet!
Love yourself. Be kind to one another.