I’ve traveled the world as an obese person.
Many, many airplanes.
A Russian train. An Indigenous boat in the Philippines.
I’ve slept on the floor of a family’s yurt in Mongolia. Walked the streets of Indian cities. And been approached by many a Japanese
tourist for a picture they want to take with a big American girl (basically
three times the size of everyone else).
Yet the thought of walking across a stage…..to receive a
nutrition degree….as an obese person.....is one of the most frightening things I’ve ever encountered.
Yesterday, I realized that I have not told many people that
for the past 2 and half years I’ve been taking night classes to receive a
Masters in Clinical Nutrition Intervention.
It was a way for me to build up knowledge so that I could help others with
their weight loss goals - to be able to advise beyond what my personal
experiences have been, with evidence-based information.
The classes went by really fast – and I now have one final
project to complete before receiving the degree. But I’ve delayed it. I froze in the realization that I had built
up all this education to help others….but had not yet focused it in on myself.
It might take a little extra time, but when I walk across
the stage, it won’t just be about obtaining a degree. It will be about the confidence that I've built in both mind and body. Freedom from the embarrassment that I didn’t know
I had, and how I chose to respond to it.
“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that
space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and
our freedom.” - Principle of Victor Frankl
