After a year of undergoing several skin removal surgeries, blogger Jacqueline Adan was body shamed again while on vacation in Key West, Florida.
In 2017, the 31-year-old, who lost 350 pounds in just three years, told her followers about being body shamed while vacationing in Mexico. During the trip, she wore a bathing suit for the first time in a “long time,” and said people stared and ridiculed her for the loose skin on her body. The scrutiny made her cry she shared in a now-viral post.
This year, she experienced a similar body shaming incident — but had a totally different response.
“Yes, I was walking on the beach and again I was pointed at and laughed and made fun of,” she wrote in an Instagram post-Wednesday.
“As I was getting laughed at and pointed at something came over me,” her caption said. “I was not embarrassed, I did not feel like I had to justify myself and I did not freeze or want to cry. I actually felt free!”
The Montessori preschool teacher said the incident made her realize how much she’s changed over the last year. She said she no longer depends on the approval of others. While she still struggles with body image from time to time, she is primarily concerned with the way that she feels about her body.
“I do not depend on the approval of others,” she wrote. “And I do not care what others may or may not think about my body. I am so focused on living my best life, and I have been working so hard on loving me exactly how I am — loose skin and all — that I do not have time to worry about what others may think or say.”
Adan’s 118,000 followers were inspired by her new attitude.
“I love this picture of you ❤️ you embrace the self-love that we should all look up to! Here I am world, strong & full of love & inspiring us,” wrote one.
“You are a true inspiration, and the body shamers are only insecure themselves! You look amazing and beautiful!!!” said another.
“I can finally say that my self-love journey has been the focus of this past year,” concluded Adan. “And being at this place in my life where I can walk around in a bathing suit and genuinely feel confident, happy and not care what others may think or say, that is true transformation.”
