Childhood memories are unforgettable to everyone. Every person has a different perception of how their childhood was like. They can be filled with a lot of joy and laughter. Being a juvenile is a care-free life because school is much easier and kids get along extremely easily. While growing up, children do not have to face the complications of applying for colleges, finding jobs, and earning money. They only have to live contently within their parents’ rules. Who would forget the days of the younger years? Sometimes, however, memories of the past can bring pain and emotion.

During my youthful years, I used to be overweight. I had a double chin, a double neck, a sticking out belly, and cheeks that looked those of chipmunks. I ate as much as I could wherever I went. Candy and ice cream were my favorite food. Everything about me signified a chubby child. I recognized that I was stout, so I made a goal to exercise daily in order to lose weight. It started well, but my laziness and lack of self-determination took over. Consuming started to replace exercising. I failed to reach my goal multiple times. It seemed impossible for me to accomplish my mission, so I just decided to give up.
My image did not really concern me because people did not insult or talk to me about it, so I was content with who I was. If no one complained about how I looked, why should I? Throughout my years as a juvenile, I unashamedly titled myself as plump. Even though people did not say it directly, I maintained the view of myself positively. This was until I went to the beach with my family and friends.

When I was in sixth grade, I went to the beach with my family, relatives, and friends in Florida. A few years had passed since the last time I had gone. However, that day was different. During the years I had not gone to the beach, I gained weight and grew bigger because of excessive eating and lack of exercise.. As everybody started changing into their swimsuits, some people started to glance over at me. Believing that my obesity was not an issue, I wondered what the problem was. Then, I heard murmuring of an “Asian Fat Albert.” A sense of curiosity of who it could be came up in me, so I started to look around the people around me as they were changing. Looking at my brother, he had a six-pack. My relatives and friends had a similar body shape. I look down at myself, seeing a bulging one-pack. For the first time, I started to feel a little self-conscious of myself.

After everyone finished changing, we did many different activities, such as volleyball, building sandcastles, and swimming in the sea. I participated in all of them, having lots of fun. Unfortunately, muttering of a fat person started to come up once more. Someone muttered, “Jiggle jiggle,” repeatedly with giggles following after. As I ran around the beach, the mutters and giggles came out louder. Looking down at myself again while running, I saw my stomach flop up and down. Then, I realized something absurd. The mutters were about my body shape. Asian Fat Albert? Jiggle jiggle? These names and phrases impacted me devastatingly. My self-consciousness burst out for the first time in my life.

This experience and humiliation persuaded me to change my lifestyle and appearance. I desired to become skinny and fit. I never ever wanted to hear those words again. Because of this, my lifestyle had to be completely changed. Once again, I set a goal to lose weight and obtain a better body image. I used any method I thought would work to help me become skinnier. Working out every single day was practical for me to do. I made myself follow a daily routine, mostly comprised of pushups and sit-ups. To go even further, I stated to skip lunch during school and go on a diet. If less food in my stomach became daily, my stomach would adapt to it and grow smaller. I decided to sign up for the swim team. Swimming is a sport that requires athletes to use all their muscles. Every muscle will get stronger, and fat will decrease as they work continuously. For some odd reason, I believed that skinny people were capable of taking exceedingly cold showers. Because of this mentality, I showered as cold as possible every time I washed up. The extreme cold forced me to yell while bathing, but I did my best to endure the pain.

It took me a whole year to grow slimmer. All the vigorous training started to pay off. My double chin and neck disappeared, my stomach flattened out, and my cheeks evened out. I grew taller as well. Satisfaction filled me up as my body image changed drastically. There would be no more offensive words said to me. Instead, my friends started to call me more muscular. I started to gain more friends that were meaningful. The benefits of achieving my goal without a doubt brought delight in me.
Accomplishing this goal taught me a lesson. Nothing is really impossible if the mindset is correct. Determination and tenacity is needed to achieve it. When I was younger, my eagerness to become skinny was not strong, which is why I was not able to achieve it. The humiliation at the beach boosted my desire and allowed me to put more effort. It had helped me to become a better self-determined person. To this day, I force myself not to quit on my goals whenever they seem beyond my capabilities. I continue to strive for them because I know it is possible to accomplish if I keep the right mentality, whether they are short-term or long-term. Goals I have made due to my experience are making it to the school tennis team, being accepted to orchestra auditions, and reaching a benching max of two hundred twenty-five pounds. My life has been wholly changed because of this experience.