JILL
Marina Bay, Quincy, MA
Daughter, fiancé, friend, student, teacher, artist, creator. I'm a strong, thoughtful, adventurous extrovert. My greatest strength is my natural disposition of positivity and kindness. I fear living with regrets and I feel most alive when I'm traveling. I was raised by everyone in my incredibly small family made up of my parents, grandmothers and uncle. I battle depression and anxiety, and since childhood, I've battled obesity. It's something I struggle with every day, despite having made some serious strides. My weight has never, and will never define who I am. But unfortunately, in the society we live in, we're constantly being spoon fed what it means to be "beautiful". I consider myself beautiful, but I do not look like the models in the magazines, in fact, not many do. Sure, in the past, I have felt like I'm not good enough or like I don't fit in. It's taken years for me to understand that beauty comes in so many forms. I'm most insecure about my stomach, I'm proportioned very strangely - I'm top heavy. But I like my face. I'd tell a 12 year old me to stop worrying about what everyone thinks, it's a waste of precious time. I'd say, love yourself truly, and the rest will follow. I wish women were less catty and judgmental. I wasn't expecting to run into "Mean Girls" in the professional world with grown women, and yet, here we are! I had a significant other that betrayed me and humiliated me in every way you can possibly betray and humiliate someone. That was the worst pain - it completely broke me. But the beauty of it was I was able to put myself back together, and this time I was the architect. I got put myself back together - using the pieces I chose and I created a stronger foundation than ever before. I believe success is feeling self-fulfilled and happiness = gratitude; the more content you are with what you have, the happier you will be. Beauty is the ability to see it in all things, including yourself! I'm Jill, I'm proud of who I am as a person - I really like ME. And I'm so excited about marrying my best friend next year!
