From thick to thin

#WeareALLathletes

As high school students we are subject to a constant onslaught of media and the pressures that go along with it. Many of these societal pressures involve physical appearance and the constant criticism of people’s bodies; specifically the bodies of young women. While much of the focus on body image is turned towards teenagers and young women, women of all ages feel pressured to look a certain way. This problem of body shaming and negative body image is widespread and is difficult to handle and address.
One woman is doing her part to make women of all ages, shapes, and sizes feel more comfortable in the skin they’re in. Andrea Plaza is the founder of From Thick To Thin, an all-inclusive athletic apparel company that strives to make workout clothes women can look and feel great in while staying active. Andrea was inspired by her own struggles with body image and trying to find athletic apparel to suit her body and her needs. I reached out to Andrea to ask her a couple questions about body positivity.
Q: What advice do you have for younger women on feeling more comfortable in their own skin?
Andrea: When I was in high school, I was always concerned about looking like the girls on TV, on the internet and in the magazines, and oh my gosh did I idolize celebrities. That’s all ok, but I knew with my body, I would never look like that. I played sports and was always active, and I was healthy, but my frame was just built to a larger size than other girls, and that’s ok. We are quick to think that it isn’t because it’s not what society idolizes, but we have to remember, we are our own people, we aren’t a carbon copy of the girl next door. We have our own feelings, thoughts, emotions and looks!
Q: What do you wish you could tell your 16 year old self?

Andrea: What I wish I could tell my younger self was to stop worrying about not looking like everyone else or BEING like everyone else. You are YOU, you’re not Taylor or Selena, but you are an amazing, powerful, strong, smart young woman who isn’t going to sit back and tell herself what she HAS to look like, but rather, have her own look. Being healthy is the most important thing, because when you’re old like I am now, it’s harder to stay healthy. But if your body is healthy and you are happy, then when you look in the mirror please be happy about what you see, instead of beating yourself down because you think you should see something else.

Being confident in who you are and what you look like is difficult for everyone. Luckily, From Thick to Thin was created to help people find that self appreciation. Hopefully more companies with this positive message will pop up soon, but for now I’m happy that at least one exists.#WeareALLathletes

Andrea left me with one last piece of advice that I hope will resonate with everyone who reads it:
“Love yourself first. Love the skin you’re in. I know it’s harder than it sounds, but you’ll get there. I promise.”