For as long as I can remember weight has played a significant role in my life. As a child, I was cute and chubby, so no one treated me differently than any other kid. All I saw throughout my childhood was my family, who are all on the heavier side, so being heavier was never a bother. I saw being larger than normal as an asset because I could boss other kids around. Having always been taller than my friends, I would make fun of them for not growing like I did. It was a role I enjoyed because it gave me a sense of control and according to researchers', role-based identity can be beneficial to an individual according to their own needs and preferences (Sluss &Ashforth, 2007). It was not until puberty that I began to struggle with my weight.(Generative
…show more content…
One instance of this that stands out was during middle school a guy started to tease me about my weight. At first, I let the jokes slide, but eventually my built up emotions came spilling out when I physically attacked him. This act led him to gain power over me and changed the status of the relationship between he and I, as well as the relationship between our mutual friends. Sluss and Ashforth state, “that roles are a central anchor for the social construction of self” (Sluss &Ashforth, 2007). My friends typically viewed me as funny and this one act made me seem weak and led them to feel pity or feel that they could not joke with me as they normally would. This changed how I viewed myself and I began to find ways to keep my emotions …show more content…
In social situations, I became the show-off, someone who would keep the attention on anything other than my weight by showing others how smart I was, how funny I was, or doing anything to distract them from noticing my flaws. How we act, feel, or think in certain situations determines how we try to gain validation from relationships (Botella & Herrero, 2000). If I felt the topic of conversation was shifting toward my size and what I was eating; I would distract them. During my personal time I would constantly critique myself about my weight and express the hurt I felt about my size. These were thoughts that I felt I could not express to others for fear they would change their perceptions of
One instance of this that stands out was during middle school a guy started to tease me about my weight. At first, I let the jokes slide, but eventually my built up emotions came spilling out when I physically attacked him. This act led him to gain power over me and changed the status of the relationship between he and I, as well as the relationship between our mutual friends. Sluss and Ashforth state, “that roles are a central anchor for the social construction of self” (Sluss &Ashforth, 2007). My friends typically viewed me as funny and this one act made me seem weak and led them to feel pity or feel that they could not joke with me as they normally would. This changed how I viewed myself and I began to find ways to keep my emotions …show more content…
In social situations, I became the show-off, someone who would keep the attention on anything other than my weight by showing others how smart I was, how funny I was, or doing anything to distract them from noticing my flaws. How we act, feel, or think in certain situations determines how we try to gain validation from relationships (Botella & Herrero, 2000). If I felt the topic of conversation was shifting toward my size and what I was eating; I would distract them. During my personal time I would constantly critique myself about my weight and express the hurt I felt about my size. These were thoughts that I felt I could not express to others for fear they would change their perceptions of