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One of the biggest struggles human beings have is with body image. It's the reason why weight loss programs, crash diets, Instagram fit accounts, and magazines all about muscle development and fat loss are so damn popular.
When I was a kid, I didn't really worry about my body image so much. I'd just eat whatever I wanted, run around like an animal (if I felt like it), play video games, sleep, wake up, and do it all over again.
But with greater access to unrestricted media, it seems like kids are growing up faster now more than ever. For young girls in particular, unrealistic representations of women's sizes and bodies in the media can be damaging for self-esteem and body-image. For young women, there can be a lot of pressure to be a certain size or body shape in order to get positive attention or be seen as desirable and lovable by a partner.
Like this 8-year-old girl, Alyssa, who went for a run after a boy she liked called her "fat."
Alyssa's older cousin, Briseyda Ponce typically goes running every day. When she was about to head out for her jog, Alyssa asked if she could tag along. Ponce said sure.
Briseyda gave her younger cousin a pretty awesome response:
"I [explained] to her how beauty isn't physical, and if she wants to work out or run it has to because she wants to be healthy, not because of others' opinions about her body. We [laughed] it off."
During the run, Alyssa got tired and decided it was time for a snack.
Briseyda then shared Alyssa's adorable story on Twitter.
The girls in her class & her crush Hector called her fat so she told me to take her on my run ๐ญ but mid run she pulls out a snack ๐ pic.twitter.com/S94Egx15jG
