Bullying can take place anywhere and can affect anyone. However, bullying kids for their appearance is the most common reason of this type of harassment.
I am sure that you can think of someone who has gone through the ordeal of being mocked and made fun of because they were obese.
Sadly, young Ethan Taylor was one of those people. But his story isn’t a sad one. It has a happy ending and serves as an inspiration for anyone who has ever experienced bullying because of the way they look.
Ethan has been a chubby boy for as long as he can remember. However, his classmates thought it was enough reason to treat him with disrespect and make fun of him.
This affected his self-esteem but he never stopped excelling at the school subjects.
Although his high-school life was a tough one and affected his self-esteem because of the bullying he experienced, Ethan was able to attend the college he wanted because he was an excellent student. Unlike him, the bullies had to satisfy themselves with low paid jobs and a lost opportunity to graduate from college.
Well, if they were focused on studying instead of making other students’ life a living hell maybe they would have accomplished something.
Ethan moved places and was now miles away from his vicious classmates, but the effects of what he had gone through wouldn’t fade away.
That and being away from home in order to attend college made Ethan eat junk food and drink heavily. On top of that, he started skipping lessons and lost interest for studying.
In just a couple of months, he gained a lot of weight. As the pounds went up, his will to change things for the better went down. Ethan weighted 368 pounds at his heaviest.
Seeing that number was a turning point for this young man. Something clicked inside of him and that changed his life forever.
The New Year came with a new restitution. To lose half of what he weighted.
But was that possible? Even if the answer was yes, Ethan was well aware that accomplishing that goal would require total dedication and staying on track.
The first step towards his new life was joining the local gym.
Ethan’s work-out included running outside, too. He also ditched his old habit of eating fast food. Greens, fruit, and vegetables were now on the menu.
It was now time for braver decisions so Ethan decided to sign up for the Chicagoland Spring Half Marathon.
Luckily, Ethan wasn’t alone in the plan to become healthy. His family was there to support him and his brother worked-out with him every step of the way.
The marathon took place in May 2019 and was a huge success and an additional motivation for Ethan as he managed to finish it. In fact, he said that he loved it and wold definitely do it again.
Even though he reached his goal of shedding half of his weight, Ethan still makes sure to eat healthy. He doesn’t plan on going back to fast food i]or drinking ever again.
What’s most, Ethan didn’t only change his life for himself but for all those students who are victims of bullying because of their obesity.
He is now planning to run a full marathon and that way help raise money for the charity organization Action for Healthy Kids.
This young man’s dedication is such an inspiration.