I’m a fourteen-year-old girl and I’ve been naturally skinny since I was a baby. I weighed 2300 grams when I was born. My mom was worried about my physical development when I was little, but the doctor said that I should be fine when I grow up. My mom is naturally skinny, too. We are both 5”1 and 82 pounds and size zeros.

I come from Taiwan, and most girls there are about as petite as I am. The average girl my age measures 5”2 and 90 pounds. It wasn’t too hard to find clothes that fit us. Most people have never even heard of obesity there.

When I came to America, a lot of people criticized me for how I look. A lot of people seem to think that all skinny people are anorexic. These kinds of stereotypes based on body images annoy me to no end. I also find it frustrating how difficult it is to find pants that would fit me here.

I eat until I’m not hungry anymore, but there’s only so much food my stomach can digest. I’ve never been on a diet or tried to lose weight. I exercise, though. I walk my dog or run on the treadmill once a week. I consider myself to have a pretty healthy lifestyle, so why does everyone judge me based on my appearance?

Even though you can see thin models in the world of fashion and commercialism, skinny people in real life are often mistaken for having an eating disorder. Nowadays, the fashion industry is banning size zero models. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t be aware of eating disorders, but is excluding thin people really a fair solution to the problem?

Unlike most teenagers, I’ve learned to like and appreciate my body. People are always saying that we should love ourselves for who we are. Well, skinny is just the way I am, and I’m not going to try to change it. A lot of people tell me I should gain weight. I find those comments frankly insulting. How would you feel if somebody tells you that you’re fat and unattractive? I get tired of trying to prove that I’m not anorexic all the time. If everybody is beautiful, then why can’t all body types be accepted in society?