A pair of wedges changed my life

My entire life I have always been very self-conscious. I was afraid of what people thought of me when I walked by. I would wonder if people were thinking "She's so fat. Why is she wearing that? Gross." I was chubby in middle school and high school. I stepped on a scale one day and I was determined to lose 50 lbs. It took me over a year but I lost it. I looked the best I had ever looked in my entire life. I went out and bought a bunch of new clothes. I stand 5 foot 6 1/2 inches tall and am a size 5. I bought some short tight dresses and a pair of wedges. I never wore them. I lost the weight but my mind still feared the short dresses exposing cellulite and my thick thighs. The wedges made me a giant and I was afraid to stand out. I was afraid to be noticed. I felt like I towered over everyone in those wedges. I decided I would never be able to wear heels or wedges with anything higher than a 1 inch heel. I envied girls wearing gorgeous pairs of heels with their outfits. I confined myself to a small selection of flats. One day, I was looking at my mother's shoes. She always has worn heels her entire life. I saw a pair of wedges that were absolutely beautiful. My mother gave them to me and that was when I decided I didn't care. Those were the cutest shoes I'd ever seen and I was going to wear them. I put on a pair of skinny jeans and paired it with those beautiful beige strappy wedges. I felt so sexy. I had them on and stood next to my husband. I was about his height in them and that was all that mattered to me. We went to the movies and as I stood in the crowd with my wedges on, I didn't tower over everyone like I had feared for so long. I was taller than many girls, but not all of them. I loved the way they made me feel. I felt beautiful and confident. After that day I went out and bought 3 more pairs of heels. I spent so much time being afraid to wear something I loved for so long and it was completely pointless. I also stopped at the store and bought a brand new 2 piece swimsuit. I always wore shorts with my swim suits because I hated my huge thighs and butt. Today I didn't care anymore. My curves looked amazing in that swimsuit. My body is not perfect, and I didn't have some chub poking out the sides of my bottoms but I no longer let that control me. I have seen bigger girls wearing smaller swim suits than that and wear them confidently. I have a beautiful body, and I have been hiding myself too afraid of what people I don't even know think of it. All because of a pair of wedges, did I realize that my self conscious was just an illusion of my own fears.