What's a size?

No matter what size you are... 8 or 0, there is no way for that size to be the perfect fit.  Sizes are by nature arbitrary.  A size is a collection of measurements under a heading.  Bodies aren't standard.  Somehow, however, sizing is supposed to be.  If you think about it, anything that has to be categorized has to be pushed a little this way or that way.  This has to be smaller than that.  That has to be larger than this.  Why is it that a number gets to have so much power?  Do we have to walk away feeling not good enough?

Maybe it's because we have learned from a very young age that numbers mean something.  Everyone knows that a 100 on a test is better than an 80.  We are driven to classify ourselves in a numerical system.  What if our grades consisted of AWESOME, GOOD WORK, LET'S TRY A LITTLE HARDER?  A grade is just a number that we have learned means something about us.  Our size is just a number that we have let mean something about us.  And like grades, we hear it can always be better.

There are some colleges where you get to pick your grades.  Depending on where you are in your life, whether you are also working through school, have a family, you get to decide which grade you want to work for.  You can choose to do the C track and not feel in competition to those who are working on A's.  What if we could accept our size in the same way?  Certain people have a lot of time to devote to sports or exercise and preparing healthy meals.  Some may have other priorities that don't allow for that.  What if we allowed ourselves to pick a size, one that we would feel comfortable in, one that was based in part on how much time we could devote?  What if we were allowed to feel proud of ourselves in that size?

What if we got to choose for ourselves what felt good instead of only getting to feel good if we got an A or wore a size 2?  What if?