Awesome and By The Way, I'm Fat Too

So, the internet has been abuzz over this little Facebook post shared by various outlets, and a lot of people called the post inspirational and awesome and full of unicorns and rainbow farts. You get where I'm going with this is. Then, The Anti-Jared posted this rebuttal, which I originally really liked but the more I read it the more I saw some hateful things written in there too. Now, you lucky readers get my take on the whole debacle. So, grab a beverage of your choice (mine is the teavana mint tea from Starbucks in case you were curious), and get comfortable.

I got the general message behind the original post, I really do, but I personally find that people can be a little condescending when it comes to cheering on the fat folks running or working out. It may be my own issues, but my blog, my views, and that's just how I feel about this. I know that many people are coming from a genuine place, and it's easy to differentiate the assholes from the genuinely awesome people; I'm not a total hateful ass wipe. This post felt a little back handed to me, and as a general rule, you probably shouldn't try to pretend you know what a person is thinking. When I am running, there are all kinds of things going through my head but I can assure you that my weight is one of the last things I think about. I am usually thinking about not dying, not getting swept during a race, sparkly unicorns, how I am never signing up for a race again, then minutes later, I am thinking about the next million races I want to do. The point being, that you don't get to pretend to know what I am thinking, unless you know me, then you know about the unicorns and what not. Another thing, is that you don't know my story, it's just as simple as that. I have been on a roller coaster ride with my weight for sometime and working on making a better life for myself and my family for some years.

So, the general idea that I want to get across is that I only want your encouragement because I'm AWESOME, not because I am fat. Seriously, I have done some pretty kick ass things in the last few years, and I have more incredible things to come. I sometimes have a hard time seeing all the things that I have accomplished, and again, that's my issue. Back to the point, I am not looking for a pity cheer or a pity high five, you can keep those. What I do love and try to give everyone is a genuine show of support because we are awesome and because we are doing awesome things. If you see me at a race, cheer for me because this is my ___th race, not because I am fat and bringing up the tail end. Give me a high five because you know that I am out there doing what some people think is impossible. Respect me because I have finished NINE half marathons, and countless other races, not because I am fat and doing it. Yes, I am fat, and I may always be fat, but I am pretty freaking awesome too! Go out there and be awesome too!

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