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Size Wize: Cheryl Haworth on Body Image
Weightlifting, Olympic bronze medalist, seven-time national champion
I am sure that I became aware of my body image in about second grade. The message I got from most people was that I was different. I was physically bigger, and my clothes were bigger. The kids would call me dumb names-all having to do with being chubby.
It didn't really bother me, though, because I soon found out that there was nothing I couldn't do because of my size. I could run fast and throw far and play and have fun. In fact, I was a lot stronger and more athletic than most of the kids. I was always playing sports.
My parents taught us to love sports. My dad was a wrestler and big-time college football player, and my mom played softball and basketball. We used to go to her games as kids. It was only natural that I played sports. And I loved the outdoors. I don't remember ever coming home from school and sitting in front of the television. I would ride my bike, play in the woods or go to a softball or basketball game.
In middle school, I quickly learned to make friends with the people who did not care about what you looked like or what clothes you wore. I thought that it was really sad to see the girls who were overly concerned about losing weight. They were so caught up in an unhealthy body image.
A good sense of humor was a lifesaver for me. I loved to laugh. I found kids who became my true friends. We would laugh together and talk about real things, and they would listen. We had common interests. We wrote funny stories together and drew funny pictures. We even developed our own comic book characters. My true friends helped me to explore my creative talents and supported me as an athlete.
I was already 190 pounds in seventh grade. I realized that I had an athletic gift - so I continued to exercise. I went to the gym. There I saw women lifting weights, and I thought, "I can do that!" So every day after school I went to the gym. The coaches would encourage me. The other weightlifters became my friends. They saw me in a different way. At school I would hear, "You're so big!" At the gym I would hear, "You're so strong!"
I started to use my strength to compete, and I became a famous athlete at school. I got to travel around the world and meet amazing people. And then, at 17, I was lucky enough to qualify for the first Olympic Games that had women's weightlifting.
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