Be a lady, the said.

"Your skirt is too short, you're shirt is too low."

"Don't show so much skin, cover up, leave something to the imagination."

"Don't be a temptress, men can't control themselves, men have needs."

"Look sexy, look hot."

"Don't be so provocative, you're asking for it."

"Wear black, wear heels."

"You're too dressed up."
"You're too dressed down."
"You look like you've let yourself go."

Be a lady, they said.

"Don't be too fat."
"Don't be too thin."

"Eat up."
"Slim down."
"Stop eating so much."
"Order a salad."
"Don't eat carbs."
"Skip dessert."
"Go on a diet."

"God, you look like a skeleton!"
"You look emaciated, you look sick."
"Why don't you just eat?"

"Men like women with some meat on their bones."

"Be a size 0."
"Be a 00."
"Be nothing."
"Be less than nothing."

Be a lady, they said.

- a poem, not of my own, but that has shown so much to me.

Our society is so self-contradicting and honestly, as loud as it is I've had to learn to try and then put the voices.

I'm not quite there, but I'm getting there, because the loudest voice in the crowd, in my own head should be mine.

I'm done listening to societal pressure and trying to give the world what it wants. If you want change, you have to be it. So, here I am, looking for change.

I'm going to be me. Because I am me, and I am beautiful as I am, and I am enough.