FAT is the new UGLY on the Playground or maybe it's not so new...

  I was recently reading an article about how the word "FAT" is the new "UGLY" on the playground and it got me to thinking about my childhood . 

This is a picture of me from 1986.  I was 7 years old. I LOVED that pink polka dotted jazz costume that I wore at my end of the summer dance recital. That summer I played soccer, danced, smiled, giggled and played with my sister and all my friends.  A week later  I started a new school year.  I will never forget it....A week later the school nurse sternly called me OBESE in front of the other kids in my class.  

At 33 years old I look back on this picture and this memory still stings me.   Adults must keep in mind at all times how they speak to children  and what they talk about among themselves when they are around children.  Comments and words from adults are soaked into kids brains as if their brains are like little sponges. One thing is for sure, I will remember it for the rest of my life.  These are the types of experiences that have inspired me when writing some of my characters for our In My Body Musical Theatre piece.