Girls are told at a young age how they should look. Whether it's from the media or friends, there's a lot of unneeded pressure put on women to look perfect.
Maggie Greene wanted to model when she was a teenager but figured she'd have to start dieting like a supermodel in order to score a contract with an agency.
After being told she had to lose even more weight to be considered for a job, Maggie was completely shocked. "I found out that ultimately all of the agents had passed on signing me until I could get my measurements down," she told Harper's Bazaar.
On January 2, 2018, Maggie posted side-by-side images of what she looked like two years ago when she was trying to get into modeling and what she looks like now.
In the caption, she explained that she put on 30 to 35 pounds and feels so much better about herself.
Keep scrolling to see the photos and what Maggie had to say.
Photos: Instagram 1, 2 / Maggie Greene
[H/T: TODAY]
Maggie Greene didn't dream of becoming a model until she was 16 years old.
Maggie loves what her body looks like now, but she wasn't always happy with her weight.
On January 2, 2018, the model posed two photos to her Instagram page. One was a before photo taken when she first got into modeling.
"The picture on the left was taken two years ago this month, and the picture on the right was taken a few weeks ago," she explained. "You can see obvious physical differences, but what you can’t see is the mental differences."
Maggie confessed that she is much happier now after she gained 30 to 35 pounds. "I am a much happier human being mentally," she wrote. "Healthy looks different on everyone & it’s important to embrace your own shape and size."
In an interview with Harper's Bazaar, Maggie said she received callbacks from major modeling agencies when she was skinnier.
However, she was shocked to learn they wanted her to lose even more weight. "I was furious and defeated. I had finally hit a wall," she explained. "Modeling, I insisted, was stupid. I was done."
Maggie quit modeling and went back to eating a pretty normal diet — especially after doctors told her she was killing her body.
To Maggie's surprise, the moment she started gaining weight, she received a call from another agency.
Not only did this agency love what she looked like, Maggie also began to love her curves.
"I was standing in front of a mirror in my underwear and was horrified at first," she told Harper's Bazaar. "I kept staring, until I couldn’t help but smile."
The model had one clear message she wanted to get across to people who looked at the photo: "It’s not about gaining or losing weight; it's about being free from deluded body image expectations, because we are all beautiful. Regardless of what people say, you can have your cake and eat it too. Seriously."
Maggie wasn't sure if she was going to post the two images but knew she had to do it to help others.
"I was nervous to post the image, but my mom urged me to do it, and I am so grateful she did," she explained. "I am mostly blown away by the amount of people who, to some extent, have felt the same way I felt, or know someone who feels pressure to succumb to the media’s unrelenting expectations."
"I never imagined I would be able to continue pursuing my dream of being a model at my natural size," she said. "At the end of the day, I want everyone to be able to look into the mirror and smile regardless of what size or shape they are."
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