Our Stories

Madhav Prakash Trigger Warning: Homophobia, Suicide, Offensive Slurs I have a friend. A friend of mine who I have maybe said 3 words to, in totality, in school, but have spent hours speaking to over texts. This friend of mine is someone who purposefully avoids me in school, but will stay up till

Aditi Neti TRIGGER WARNING: Crash Diets, Body Image Issues Being overweight has been something I have been struggling with my entire life. I genuinely have no clue what it's like to buy clothes that are a size small. I never wear sleeveless tops because I’m insecure about my arms. My wardrobe col

Alekhya Bhat Trigger Warning: Fat Shaming, Eating Disorders, Bullying I remember the first time The DUFF became a popular book at my school. It was in December of the eighth grade, but this possibly well-intentioned book meant to make the “ugly girl” get the “hot guy” in the end - a symbol of ho

Avichal Jadeja TRIGGER WARNING: Suicide, Bullying, Physical Abuse I usually love to lighten up the mood. Cracking a joke or two, but unfortunately what I’m about to say isn’t funny. What am I going to talk about though? I’m going to talk about what I went through and how it shaped me, but the m

Abhinaya Viswanathan TRIGGER WARNING: Sexual Assault, Pornography, Eating Disorders, Dysmorphia This article is 18+ “You should be a model!” “I’m not skinny or tall enough to be a model.” I chuckled awkwardly. “Not that kind…” He said, staring at my body. I’ve got a body like Mia Khalifa. Cur

Advitha Harini Trigger Warning: Body Image Issues, Eating Disorders, Self-Harm Hi. I’m Advitha, and here’s a story I haven’t told anyone. “Body image is a person’s perception of their own body’s aesthetics or sexual attractiveness.” When I was eleven years old, I was introduced to the term “Bo

Pranav Dawar Trigger Warning: Body Image Issues Reflection | Short Film | Pranav Dawar

Revathi Raghavan Trigger Warning: Anorexia, Body image issues It was life-changing for me when someone said that all coping mechanisms were necessary and came from a place of survival. Behaviors that hurt you now at some point probably saved your life, because they helped you get through unimag

Trigger Warning: Eating Disorders, Bullying, Self-Harm My name is Alekhya Bhat, and here is my story. Perfection is such an incredibly complex word. So few know the actual depth behind those three syllables, yet so many strive towards achieving that status. So many people stare at themselves in t

Sahana Vathsa Trigger Warning: Eating Disorders, Self-Harm, Panic Attacks The funny thing about eating disorders is that they make you feel like you're in control when, in reality, you're far from it. At first, I thought it was some sort of life hack. I could eat as much as I wanted and still ge

Ankitha Ramaiyer TRIGGER WARNING: Colorism Dear Fairness Cream Companies, Well, not so dear. Have you no morals? Ever looked at your models? Virgins to sunlight; skin so pale, Starved and bleached and left so frail Made the beauty industry a catastrophe Leaving young girls' skin prey to atrophy

Anonymous “I think you might be bipolar,” a phrase that came up so casually I cannot even remember the context. Throughout the course of the past 3 years, my ex-boyfriend has said far too many things of this nature to belittle me and my emotions. Not only did they hurt me, but they mirrored the mi

Pranav Dawar TRIGGER WARNING: Bullying, Body Image “Work out and get abs or you won’t pick up girls” is probably the most common advice given to a skinny guy. The second most common thing told to them is that people will exploit them, almost as if being thin gives others a free pass to bully. In

Parth Shukla TRIGGER WARNING: Color Discrimination, Bullying, Homophobia Realizing my flaws and recognizing them as the source of my strength has been revolutionary for my mental health in ways I’d desperately needed it to be. I have always been fascinated by the color of my skin. Over the year

Sreenidhi Boopathi TRIGGER WARNING: Eating Disorders, Body Dysmorphia She stood up all tall and proud, The epitome of grace. Knees bent and ankles out, A smile upon her face. The applause rang clear and loud, She watched them from her place. Roses fell and then she bowed, Tears clouding he

Emma Sindoni Trigger Warning: Body Image Issues My hair, or Mufasa, as I like to call her, has been my greatest sense of being and my clearest sense of empowerment. She has been my source of pride and shame. She is who I am, but that wasn't always so. A distinctive combination of my father's coa

Aabha Sewak Trigger Warning: Bullying, Body Dysmorphia, Self-Harm In my second grade classroom, my teacher spoke to us about animals. She told us that animals have fur or hair on their skin to protect their bodies. Little did the wide-eyed girl sitting in the back know how complicated a hair coul

Gargi Asthana Trigger Warning: Eating Disorders About four years ago, I came across a 'pro-ana' website that glorified eating disorders, promoted unhealthy eating habits, and anorexia. I planned this out carefully. I told myself that maybe for a couple of months, I would starve myself, and once

Anonymous Trigger Warning: Eating Disorders I hate the gym, and I love chocolates. I still remember the first time I got made fun of for being fat. I was only eight years old, and my third-grade crush called me an elephant. That day I went home and didn't eat any cake - it was my birthday. When