Realizing my weight could cost me a job…

One thing I love about this blog is that I can be completely honest with you. I can tell you exactly how I am feeling and know that I will not be judged or criticized for it. I contemplated on whether or not to write this post because I was scared but in the hopes that this may help someone else, I have decided to do it

I recently applied for a job as a cheer coach. I was very excited about this position because I was a cheerleader for eight years and it was something that was a huge part of my life and I loved it. A week later I got an e-mail back asking me to come in for an interview and I was so excited!!! Attached to the e-mail was the company website so I decided to take a look. That is when it hit me, this company would not hire me. This company went around to the elementary schools to show kids that fitness can be fun through things such as cheer and dance. The main goal of this company is to teach kids that if they incorporate movement into their lives when they are young, they are more likely to bring that into adulthood thus preventing obesity as an adult.

I am literally everything that they do not want a child to end up as. I am a spitting image of what not to become. I was so disheartened and it was the first time I realized that the way I look might cost me a job.  The worst part about the whole thing is that I would actually be really great at it. I confided in my MFP friends and a few personal friends and asked what they thought I should do. They all said the same thing to me, bring up my weight during the interview and talk about how I am working hard to lose the weight. I contemplated on whether this would be a smart move or not and whether they would care. My friend Brenda made a comment to me and it stuck. She reminded me that it was not my fault I had Hashimotos Thyroiditis. It was true. I didn’t choose to have a thyroid problem, but I do.

I went into the interview feeling confident and ready to explain how my thyroid condition effected my weight and that if anyone would make a great coach against obesity, it would be me because I am struggling with it myself! The interview ended up lasting only a few minutes and I didn’t really get a chance to even mention my weight. The owner was so happy to hear about my work with children and my charity work. He told me that the amount of coaches they will be hiring depends on the amount of children who register for the classes and that I would be hearing from them shortly.

I walked out of that interview feeling great! I had come to such peace with myself beforehand that I allowed myself to go in there and just be myself. I was able to share my passion for children and it was something that he kept mentioning he really liked. After I got home, I had an email from another cheer company I had applied for also asking for an interview. Let me tell you, I am going to nail it.