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Woman Shares A Story Of How Her Teacher Commented On Her Body 17 Years Ago And That Still Contributes To Her Body Image Issues
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Woman Shares A Story Of How Her Teacher Commented On Her Body 17 Years Ago And That Still Contributes To Her Body Image Issues

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Some may say that words can hurt you as much as knives because physical wounds heal much faster than emotional trauma. Once you hear some nasty comments said your way, you might remember them your whole life and they can actually prevent you from living your life to the fullest.

That’s why it’s so important to be kind to others and think about what your words may mean to them before saying something. A TikToker shared a story of a moment that really stuck with her and the words she carries from since she was 11 as they were told by a teacher.

More info: TikTok

Elyse Myers shared a story of how something that a teacher said about her body in her teen years stuck with her through her whole life

Image credits: elyse_myers

Elyse Myers is a TikTok star with 3.5 million followers. She is known for telling stories from her life that can teach everyone a lesson or more often, give a good laugh. Her videos regularly go viral and get watched millions of times.

One of her more recent story times that got 2.6 million people interested is from her teenage years to show the importance of being kind and choosing your words before you say them as they can be really damaging.

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Image credits: elysemyers

The woman starts by saying that when she was a teenager she was bigger than other kids her age. It didn’t bother her, but for some reason, everyone wanted her to know that they thought she was not of the appropriate weight.

What does bother Elyse now looking back was that she had so many other qualities people could have praised, but they couldn’t see past her body.

Elyse said that she weighed more than her peers in middle school and everyone let her know that

Image credits: elysemyers

As a child, she wasn’t taught to love her body, but instead, people liked to remind her that there was something wrong with it. Only now Elyse understands that those comments on her body reflected more so on the people who said them rather than her own appearance.

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Even though we can pretend we don’t care and brush off the comments and awful things strangers or people that we don’t care about say, it’s not that easy when those words come from the mouth of a person that you look up to, that is an authority and an important figure.

One time a substitute teacher commented that she was not suited for a cheerleading outfit when she expressed to her friends she would like to be a cheerleader

Image credits: elysemyers

Image credits: elysemyers

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Even though we may not like our teachers or really know them as people, they still are a big influence in our lives. Students literally write down what they say and when they comment on things other than the subject they teach, students still can hear them and they are still very impressionable.

And what a substitute teacher said to Elyse 17 years ago, she still remembers. She remembers how he said that she was not suited for a cheerleading uniform when she was talking with her friends about what she would like to do aside from school.

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Elyse understands now that it was extremely inappropriate; what is more, she still remembers that remark to this day, 17 years later

Image credits: elysemyers

The teacher believed that he was ‘saving Elyse from herself’ but the woman thinks that it was absolutely inappropriate and disgusting. What he actually did was leave a scar in Elyse’s heart and even so many years later, she still is trying to fix it and not let it rule her life.

What the TikToker wanted to say with this story is that kids believe things you tell them. Words can shatter any person but they can also lift them up; however, it’s hell of a lot more difficult to do that when they are broken into a million pieces.

That is why she asks people to be more careful before making comments on others’ appearance

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Image credits: elysemyers

The topic of appearance is a sensitive one. Children, teenagers and adults as well want to feel beautiful and accepted. It takes a lot of effort to build up confidence and just one word can ruin the process.

Elyse asks people to be understanding and more kind not only towards others but also themselves. In her opinion it is important to not focus only on appearance and know that people have other great qualities.

You never truly know your influence on others so it’s always best to be kind and show more compassion

Image credits: elysemyers

Image credits: elysemyers

You can listen to Elyse telling her story below

@elysemyers Your words are powerful. #coffeetalk #theadhdway #words ♬ original sound – Elyse Myers

The teacher’s comment would have been hurtful for anyone and Elyse still remembers it to this day, however, she still was able to play a cheerleader during her senior year in high school for the musical Grease and proudly shows a photo at the end of the video.

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We would like to know if you agree with Elyse that people forget that their words mean more to others than they think. Or do you think that we’ve become too sensitive and care too much about others’ opinions, letting them influence our lives? Let us know in the comments!

People in the comments agreed with the message Elyse wanted to deliver and related to the story she told

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Jurgita Dominauskaitė

Jurgita Dominauskaitė

Author, BoredPanda staff

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Having started as a content creator that made articles for Bored Panda from scratch I climbed my way up to being and editor and then had team lead responsibilities added as well. So it was a pretty natural transition from writing articles and titles as well as preparing the visual part for the articles to making sure others are doing those same tasks as I did before well, answering their questions and guiding them when needed. Eventually I realized editing gives me the most enjoyment and I'm focusing only on that right now.

Read less »
Jurgita Dominauskaitė

Jurgita Dominauskaitė

Author, BoredPanda staff

Having started as a content creator that made articles for Bored Panda from scratch I climbed my way up to being and editor and then had team lead responsibilities added as well. So it was a pretty natural transition from writing articles and titles as well as preparing the visual part for the articles to making sure others are doing those same tasks as I did before well, answering their questions and guiding them when needed. Eventually I realized editing gives me the most enjoyment and I'm focusing only on that right now.

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Viviane
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"I need to save you from yourself" - because cheerleading is a self-destructive act for an 11-year-old?? Is he in the habit of pre-emptively crushing kids' dreams under the pretense of "caring"?

Iapetos
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes. What an asshat. Should learn to shut his gob instead of embarassing children in front of their friends.

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Burs
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This reminds me to the "psycologist" of out middle school. She was there supposedly to guide us but she was a useless cruel moron. One of my friends struggled paying attention in class and her grades werent good. She was smart but not motivated, maybe she had poor studying skills, maybe she had attention deficit, I do not know. At 15 we needed to chose which branch we wanted to follow (science, humanities, arts) at 16 the classes were almost the same with a few differences and after in HS they were different. My friend wanted to do science and this bitch told her "you are too stupid to do that". She quit school and only finished years later. F*****g asshole who was supposed to help us and only destroyed my friends self steem and future.

Boreedout of my mind
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

something similar happened to me from 6th to 9th grade basically, teacher of my native language told me I can't speak it, I'm too dumb for hs graduation exams and should just go to cook school cause I will not be able to graduate HS, I went to hs out of spite and got the highest mark and graduated, to this day she is the only person I literally hate, she crushed my childhood dreams of being a writer for years ☹️

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Viviane
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"I need to save you from yourself" - because cheerleading is a self-destructive act for an 11-year-old?? Is he in the habit of pre-emptively crushing kids' dreams under the pretense of "caring"?

Iapetos
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes. What an asshat. Should learn to shut his gob instead of embarassing children in front of their friends.

Load More Replies...
Burs
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This reminds me to the "psycologist" of out middle school. She was there supposedly to guide us but she was a useless cruel moron. One of my friends struggled paying attention in class and her grades werent good. She was smart but not motivated, maybe she had poor studying skills, maybe she had attention deficit, I do not know. At 15 we needed to chose which branch we wanted to follow (science, humanities, arts) at 16 the classes were almost the same with a few differences and after in HS they were different. My friend wanted to do science and this bitch told her "you are too stupid to do that". She quit school and only finished years later. F*****g asshole who was supposed to help us and only destroyed my friends self steem and future.

Boreedout of my mind
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

something similar happened to me from 6th to 9th grade basically, teacher of my native language told me I can't speak it, I'm too dumb for hs graduation exams and should just go to cook school cause I will not be able to graduate HS, I went to hs out of spite and got the highest mark and graduated, to this day she is the only person I literally hate, she crushed my childhood dreams of being a writer for years ☹️

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