Let me start by being completely honest with you. I am far from the resident expert on body positivity. In fact, body positivity never seemed to affect me until my “body negativity” had reached dangerous levels. When I came to college, I was fully prepared to combat the infamous “Freshman Fifteen” with every shred of willpower I had. Halfway through the year I found myself saying things like, “Mirror, mirror, on the wall, WAIT…when did that fat roll get there?!”, Disney princess mantra excluded of course.

By now, I’ve lost track of the times I’ve looked at my reflection in the mirrors at the Rec center and wondered where it all went wrong. While I may pride myself in having some “book sense,” it took me entirely too long to understand and develop healthy and realistic expectations for what my body should look like at this point in my life. Here I was, an almost-woman, fully expecting to still look like a high school sophomore, and hating myself for failing miserably. Even as a food and nutrition minor, I grappled with the idea that my changes in jean size, could be a direct result to my genes. Ultimately, I began to understand that changes in my body were no indication of great personal failure on my behalf.

Don’t get me wrong, if you are still the same size as you were in high school, I am in no way bashing you. It is perfectly alright to look your age, it is equally acceptable to still be able to shop in the children’s section, and it is just dandy to be anywhere on the spectrum in between. My ultimate goal is to share with you one of the most important lessons that I have learned to date: self-acceptance. Learning to accept and love your body through its’ many stages, changes, highs and lows, is the most gratifying, fulfilling and empowering lesson that we can learn here in college.

My mistake was not in being conscious of changes that were occurring. In fact, I cannot stress to you enough the importance of knowing your body well; but there is a difference in recognizing change and obsessing over it. It is not always easy to respond positively to changes we have been conditioned to view as negative. I urge you to prioritize your health and quality of life, over sizes and numbers on the scale. If you believe a change needs to be made, there are numerous ways you can access information and guidance about how to get there.

So do me a favor and don’t set yourselves up for failure. Perfection is not, and never will be an attainable goal. You deserve so much more than to hold yourself to unrealistic or unhealthy body standards. Give yourself some grace. Whether you are still working on your New Year’s resolution, have built the perfect Spring Break bod, ran the Tuscaloosa Half Marathon last weekend or you’re just a former high school athlete like myself; I have a message for you: You look great today.

Candace Allen is a junior majoring in athletic training. Her column runs biweekly.