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Interviewer: So what was it like for you to be part of something so positive?

Asia Hall: It was actually an amazing experience. Oh my god, I never thought it was going to be like what it was. You’re in a room with, literally, there are probably maybe 300 girls there, and they’re all varying in sizes. Some of them were much bigger than me, some of them were much smaller than me, but all of them were having the same - they were all the same - you’re like “We all think the same!” And it was just great to sit there and hear them all talk and they were like “How’s my butt look in this?” and girls would be like “I wish my thighs were bigger!” (laughs) But they were all so positive about themselves. Girls came in with like, little tank tops on. One girl actually stripped off and had this bikini on and was like “I’m totally going to wow the judges!” And I’m like “That’s AWESOME!!!” They were just so happy about who they are and their bodies and they were just so excited about themselves.

You have this collective feeling of “We are DAMN proud of our bodies and all of our lovely bulges!” It was just so great to hear them talk so happy about themselves. They were just so proud of everything that they had on their body that you were just like..oh..You can’t help but, y’know, you’re just in that for so long, you can’t help but be like “Oh my god, these women are so beautiful. There are so many beautiful women here.” I never knew there were that many beautiful women like that out there. You know, each one’s prettier than the next. It was such an uplifting experience to be a part of, you’re just like “wowww.”

But you also get this idea that there is such a difference in the way taht certain cultures see beauty. Because I went to the one in Atlanta, and I would say that probably 80% of it was a lot of black women there, and they were SO body-positive. They just loved themselves and I was like, “Please, can I grow up in your family!?!” (laughs) ‘Cuz they were just so happy with who they were, and I was just sitting there being this miserable girl, and I was like “yeah…I’m tryin’ to look all cute.” And it’s like, no wonder these women are so beautiful. Look at how they shine from the inside! Look at how happy they are with themselves! You can’t help but look at that and think, god you have confidence, you’ve gotta be gorgeous. You just see all that and see the way different people look and you think “God, I just missed out. I Missed. Out.”

Interviewer: So did you take that with you? The positivity?

Asia Hall: Yeah, I did. I did. Because you think that fat is a bad thing for so long, and then you get in this room where women are wanting parts of their bodies to be BIGGER, and you’re just like “Maybe it’s not so bad after all.” I mean, you still think, god these people are a little crazy. But then you’re like, you get this idea that it’s OK, that it’s such an OK thing. And you also get the idea that being in the room with so many different sizes, and seeing how each girl dressed herself, how each girl presented herself, and to see so many different attitudes. I took that with me, being like, we’re all so different, but each one presented themselves so beautifully it’s like, you can take one cake, but you can frost it 800 different ways. And that’s kind of what it felt like, it’s like, I’m not doing something wrong just because I look different from this girl over here. We may both be the same size, but just because we dress differently doesn’t mean that she’s pretty and I’m not. Because every girl there was so pretty and they all dressed differently. So I felt like, OK, I can take this with me, and be like “yes, we’re diverse. It’s just different ways to frost our cakes.”

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Asia Hall can be contacted via FaceBook

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Chrissy can be found here.

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Abby can be contacted here.