On a daily basis, we encounter people from different walks of life. The everyday grind can leave us often exhausted and also indifferent. It can cause us to downplay the importance of each individual that we come across, often dismissing the fact that everyone we meet has a story to tell.
That is true of 21 year old John Paulo Caparros. Upon first meeting him, you would think that John was your typical millenial – excelling in a coveted communications post in the day and partying through the night, without a care in the world. But in reality, John wasn’t born with the golden spoon. Despite the fact that his family has thriving businesses in Quezon Province, John opted to pursue his dream of working in the communications industry and supported himself through college by working and studying full-time.
But what strikes me the most about his story is the fact that he overcame his emotional attachment to food which caused him to balloon to a whopping 150kg. From the outside, it is easy to say that being overweight is caused by not having enough discipline but in reality, it goes deeper than simply wolfing down everything we see in sight.
In a country where obesity is an alarming problem, John’s story reminds us that it all begins within before we overcome anything externally. For John, his fascination with food began when he moved to the United Kingdom to be with his mom who was nurse and where he studied for middle school.
Living away from home was a big trigger for John, especially since he found it difficult to cope with a new environment without any friends, “I found comfort in food, good food, from all that was happening around me.”
Before he knew it, he was the biggest he has been and this was when further discrimination and name calling began, “I was called every name in the book: a pig, a monster, and that I wouldn’t amount to anything.”
This led to depression in John and for a time, he felt like he wasn’t going to be able to overcome his situation. He felt hopeless and thoughts of ending his life clouded his young mind but John refused to give into it, instead he found a way to begin his journey.
Ironically, the defining factor for John was finding confident in himself even when he wasn’t where he was supposed to be yet, “In overcoming any challenge, self-confidence is important. You don’t have to wait for circumstances to change, you have to find what makes you unique and be proud of that.” This new self found belief in himself led him to taking care of himself better and eventually redirected his dependency on food on something more productive. Instead of eating his sorrows away, John focused on doing exemplary on his job, working out, and growing himself as a person.
Today, John continues to work on himself while pursuing a stable job in the PR industry. The secret he says are just three things, “Motivation, even if the process is hard, you can still do it. Discipline is important, know when to stop and when to settle and find an inspiration, who are you doing it for? For me, I do it for my family and that is my continous inspiration everyday.”
– CarlaBianca V. Ravanes Higham
The Story : The Psychological trauma of being an overweight child can stay with you for life.
Stop The Hate, Stop Fat Shaming.
150kg down to 92kg
Height : 6’3
There was a really fat kid who always get bullied because of his obesity.
“Baboy!, Matakaw! Patay Gutom! Napabayaan sa Kusina! ”
That’s what they call him.
The fat kid doesn’t have much friends, so he’s always by himself in the cafeteria, one day sitting alone, he noticed a young lady looking at him from the other table.
The fat kid looked away, and said to himself “I wonder kung anong panglalait nanaman ba ang maiimbentong I-tawag sakin”. And he continued munching.
The fat kid noticed that the young lady that kept on noticing his behavior, smiled at him and said, “Bakit mag isa ka lang, pa share naman! Description: 🙂” the fat kid nodded and said “sure” ended with a smile.
The same routine keeps on going day by day.
One day, the fat kid asked the young lady “bakit? , bakit ka nag sasasayang ng oras sa Walang kwentang Katulad ko, bakit hindi ka sumama sa Mga barkada mo.
The young lady lady responded with a smile and said nothing, and they continued eating.
The fat kid noticed that every time he sees the young lady, the feels and the butterflies in his stomach grumbles with joy.
Once again. The fat kid asked the young lady.
“Bakit? Bakit ba nagsasayang ka Ng oras Sakin, magtatampo na ata ang mga friends mo.
And the again, the young lady responded with a smile, then she continued munching.
Every time the fat kids asks the young lady, he always get the same response.
Until he asked this unusual question.
“Bakit? Bakit ba laging nag sasayang ka ng Oras para saakin, Siguro crush mo ako”
The young lady smiled and said “yes”, the fat kid giggled and said, “pinag tritripan mo nanaman ako, Kumain Nalang tayo”
As the days pass, the same routine keeps on goin day by day.
The fat kid mumbled and said will you be my girlfriend, followed by a “yes” by the young lady.
After a month of being together, same time same place same setting.
The fat kid started receiving random text messages from a unknown number saying
“Halimaw, Wala kang kwenta! Hindi Kayo Bagay! Gugugutumin mo lang Si young lady!, Wala kang mararating sa buhay! Baboy! Patay gutom, mamatay kana! Napaka takaw mo, dapat sayo kinakatay ”
The fat kid’s heart got hurt so much, and never came back.
No messages, No cafeteria time, never again the fat kid was seen.
After four years, the fat kid saw the young lady at the same location, same time.
The lady noticed him and said.
“Bakit, Anong nangyari.”
The fat kid said nothing and smiled.
The fat kid walked away and said,
“ask your mom”
Never again the fat was seen as he was before.
After a year, the fat kid decided to share his story and smiled.
Feb 22 2010. #StopFatShaming
