Personal Statement
Waist 40 inches, face diameter 20 cm, and weight 90 kg. For a fifteen-year-old in boarding school, simply put, I was obese. I was not happy. I felt depressed, drawn back, and unhappy. I kept to myself. I avoided standing or raising my hand in class due to the embarrassment of my huge frame. I became very stressed, causing my academic grades and performance in extracurricular activities to drop hugely. This needed to change and real fast.
Initially, I would do three laps around the school athletics field and call it off. The lifestyle change was made tougher with many avenues to cheat on my new convictions. I would salivate as others feasted on junk food while I ate my vegetables and fruit-based dinners. On my weak days, I would discreetly go to the canteen and buy crisps or candies, which I would eat under cover of the blanket deep in the night. After a couple of weeks of no reduction in my weight, I realized that I was lying to myself. I needed to face the truth of why I really wanted to lose weight, which was to improve my self-esteem, health, and worth. Three months later, after challenging myself every week with milestones, I weighed 68kg.
This weight loss gave me the freedom to rebuild myself. My academic performance significantly improved: I became more alert in class, and I was confident in my class participation. My final grades were a good testament to my activeness in class. With my self-esteem and confidence restored, I could now confidently stand in front of our class and teach. Importantly, I have found that teaching others in my school to overcome a similar challenge has been personally fulfilling.
I am extremely proud that I came out of this challenge stronger. My huge weight loss brought notable changes in and out of the classroom for me and those close to me. I wish to keep it this way for life.