Senior Jasmine Lind is a theater kid with an incredible amount of confidence, and anyone that knows her can agree. She hasn’t always had the confidence she has today, and used to feel very insecure and worthless. She used to feel she was too big to have or do things, such as play lead roles in a play or have a boyfriend. She used to hate herself because of the way she looks. One day, she decided she was tired of beating herself up for not looking like the models, so she chose to learn to love herself.

Gaining the confidence she has today didn’t come to her overnight and took time. “I basically looked in the mirror and would constantly tell myself I am beautiful and worth every step I take,” she said. Jasmine also believes who she surrounded herself with was important to her self love journey. Her family has helped her greatly, especially her sister, grandma, and parents. Not only family, but her friends Hailee, Alyssa, and Olivia have aided her throughout and been a great support system for her.

Social media has been a mix of good and bad for Jasmine. “I will post a TikTok and get so much recognition of how confident I am, and I will get comments of girls saying that just seeing me love myself for who I am makes them want to try and love themselves,” she said, “But on the bad side, I will make a video and get hate comments saying how fat I am, how I shouldn’t love myself, how I need to exercise, how I need to eat better, how I’m too fat to be pretty…” The positive comments make her feel good about herself and inspirational to other girls. However, the negative ones show Jasmine that most people have the set mindset that if someone is bigger, it means they don’t work out and don’t eat well; that isn’t always the case.

Jasmine has recently begun working out and trying to lose weight “not because I hate myself or think I’m fat,” she said, “It’s more about the feeling.” She knows in her heart that she looks good, but doesn’t feel the healthiest. She doesn’t have any health problems currently, but knows her weight could lead to some in the future. Her goal is to lose 60-80 pounds to feel as good as she looks. “I believe I would still be the same old Jasmine that has a big heart and that will always be positive. I don’t think I could ever see myself changing or acting different just because I lost weight,” she said.

As far as influencing other girls goes, Jasmine feels she can help girls see that it’s okay to be big or small. She believes “true beauty is on the inside, and as cliche as that sounds, it’s the truth.” What Jasmine wants is for girls to know it’s okay to have a little gut, to wear whatever they want, and that any girl of any size can talk to her because she would “love to help these girls find  the confidence that is deep inside them.”