Stop pitying, Start joking!

Dear reader,

I'm back......and I have something big to tell you today!

This happened a couple of years ago...yet I remember every moment of it like it happened a few minutes ago. There I was seated on my sofa with my parents and a few others close to the family - engaged in normal conversation about how there needed to be a rule for lighter school bags for kids - unaware of what was going to pop up next.
Now the people I was seated with were models in the advertising field. An uncle suddenly exclaimed - "Arna you should think about doing small roles in ads...People like you are in demand nowadays!"
I almost blushed. Wow, there is scope for me to enter the field of acting!
Until he continued... "There are so many restaurants opening up lately..and they're advertising a lot. Places like KFCs & Pizza Huts. And for their ads they require fat people sitting and eating their food - so people like you really are in demand!"

That hurt. A lot. Well lets just say hurt would be an understatement. I don't know for how long I cried after they left.

It was a few years later that I joined an organisation called Toastmasters. In toastmasters, one of the main activities is to give what we call prepared speeches. (For those of you interested in developing your public speaking & leadership skills - do google up Toastmasters International - its a great platform!)

One fine day my mentor suggested I take up a different genre of speaking - he suggested I do an entertaining, almost humorous speech. I was in the search of a good topic for the same when I suddenly decided to do a speech on my weight! The speech was a humorous take on my life as a biggie.

It was THE day. I went up on stage and delivered that speech.
And you must believe me when I tell you that those 7 minutes up there were exhilarating. The final lines of my speech went - "I will lose weight when I will, but until then I will keep telling myself - I'm in great shape, and the shape is round!"
I could hear myself laugh as I walked off the stage. I felt light, I felt happy, I felt comfortable being me!

Till that day I resisted talking about my weight, I pitied myself, I felt hurt for things people had said.
Friends, that was the first time I had ACCEPTED that I was big - and it made all the difference!

Now getting back to the acting offer, just imagine me saying - "That's a wonderful offer - but I don't think they can afford a beauty like me!" and laughing off the whole episode. Life would've been so much more simpler!

Ahh I just read what I've written till now...Its getting too much right ? :D
Well I'm not going to say too much more...just a few parting lines.

To all you biggies,
Know, and Believe that being Big is not a crime!
Work on losing weight, yes. Not because you are ashamed of yourself. But because you love yourself!

Stop pitying. Start Joking.
Stop crying. Start laughing.
Stop mourning. Start loving.

Because YOU deserve the laughter. YOU deserve the applaud. YOU deserve the love. :)

Yep I'm almost done.... just remember
Zip Zap Zoo,
I am special, and so are you!

Keep the smiles alive! Keep the love alive!

Signing off with loads of laughter & love,
The biggie! :)

Time to say Hello!

Dear Reader,

Here's a BIG hello from my side!
Well let me tell you a little about myself... I am in that phase of a girl's life when 'beautiful' is the best compliment she wishes to hear about herself...at that phase when she wishes to fit in to every gorgeous dress she lays her eyes on...at that phase when strives hard for the perfect facebook profile picture...at that phase when...well you get the picture right ?

There's something else you've gotta know about me too! I am a 'big' person, I've been one for quite some time now. And being big is hard, let me tell you.
Now for a long time I hated shopping for clothes. It is highly embarrassing to listen to the salesperson go - "I don't think this would fit you M'aam, I'm afraid we dont have your size." And it is even more embarrassing to see another customer walk up, pick up that very dress you loved so much, and walk away with her head held high - because she knows she would fit into it!

For a long time I also was really afraid to make new friends. It was my belief that I was just not good enough for good-looking people. I wanted to be in my little safe environment, not venturing out to explore the galaxy out there. I was an extrovert no doubt, I spoke to people no doubt, but I was afraid of becoming part of their lives. I felt I would be an embarrassment.

And then something happened.

I am still big. But today I walk into the mall with a grin on my face, with my head held high.
I am still big. But today my life is filled with the best people, and loads of them!
I am still big. But I have never felt more beautiful!

What happened ? - I wish I could give you a definite answer. But I dont have one. Its a culmination of so many different ideas & beliefs! And this blog is an attempt to bring that out to you.

Through this blog I will attempt to give you a few insights, a few ideas, a few stories from my life..and a few stories from the lives of other biggies - that will make you believe me when I say that BIG is NOT BAD! :)

Well leaving you on a thought that I keep telling myself -
Zip Zap Zoo,
I am special, and so are you!

I'll be back real soon! Keep the love flowing!

With a Big Hug,
A fellow Biggie!