If you’d known me as a teenager, you’d have known I did not like sport - and by not like, I mean I vehemently avoided it at all costs. Despite doing ballet to grade five, I quit aged 13 because I was convinced I looked fat in a leotard. Needless to say, my interest in any kind of sport went downhill from there. I made it a priority to skive PE lessons, fake illnesses in time for sports days, and moodily opt out of any family football matches or rounders games.
I’m not proud of it, but as I’ve grown older, I’ve had time to reflect on why, exactly, I was so reluctant to get moving as a teen. In truth, I didn’t feel comfortable in my body or at ease in most of the spaces designed for working out. Rather than inspiring me to get a sweat on, they felt suffocating and only highlighted my inner insecurities and fears.
