Looking at Megan Yit’s petite frame and toned physique, you’d find it hard to believe she ever struggled to look at herself in the mirror. All it took was just one nasty comment directed at her as a teen that left the 19-year-old feeling insecure about herself and her body.

“There was a girl in school, who was a year older than me, who called me ‘short, stubby and fat’. Because she said that, every other comment that came after that made me very sensitive to it,” Megan remarked.

Standing at just 1.5 metres tall, the National University of Singapore (NUS) student was initially insecure about her height, admitting that she almost took up her mother’s proposal to get hormone injections to make her taller. On top of that, she wasn’t happy about her weight relative to her height.

Megan’s journey towards being happy and finding herself first started when she tried out for street dance in Junior College (JC). While she joined the CCA simply because she loved to dance, it involved a lot of cardio and she slowly started shedding her extra weight. People around her soon started commenting on her body saying that she looked a lot different from better; that she looked a lot better and healthier.

However, the most defining point of her self-acceptance came when she moved onto the second year of JC. Admitting to being a social creature seeking for the attention of others when she was in her first year, Megan let go of that a year later when she was forced to bury her head in books while studying for the GCE ‘A’ levels.

“I cut off most of my friends but kept close to me those whose opinions mattered more to me. It was then when I stopped caring about what others thought about me,” Megan commented.

Her self-confidence was further boosted when she met her boyfriend, Leonard, who introduced her to weight lifting once she graduated. While she didn’t think that gymming affected how she looked significantly, Megan started feeling more assured and looked at herself differently.

Her Instagram account (@_hiccupieeyelashiejellie) has garnered over 12,000 followers to date, where she constantly posts images revealing her toned abdominals. In doing so, Megan has subjected herself to hate from others, but she admits it no longer affects her.

“I feel more secure in knowing I am who I am. Others can say what they want. So even if they say these kind of things, I know I can’t block it out totally but it affects me less than before. What helped the most was that the people around me always told me these people might just be jealous, or they’re just trying to discredit your efforts; just ignore them cause there will always be people like that,” she said.

Today, Megan is extremely assured and confident about herself and her body, and hopes Rock The Naked Truth can help others out there who struggle with their body image insecurities. With RTNT’s compilation of stories, she hopes those who aren’t happy with themselves and their bodies can see that there are many out there that who struggle with their own body image too, and take comfort in that.

As a social media influencer who is exposed to both compliment and criticism on a daily basis, Megan wants anyone who is struggling to love themselves each day and to know that self-acceptance comes from within.

“It has to start from yourself. You have to look at yourself and think that you are great, that you are as equal as everybody else. The moment you think you are beautiful and love your body, other people will see you the same way.”

We speak more to Megan …

How do you feel about your body now?

I can’t even find the words to describe it. I feel everything is so different. I don’t think that I’m perfect or anything. I just love the way I am and there’s nothing I would change about it. Previously I would consider when my mum wanted to bring me for hormone injections to make me taller, but now it’s more like, hey I’m short but I love the way I am.

Personally, what does body image mean to you?

Body image is about the way you see yourself. If you’re born a certain way, it’s the way you accept yourself for who you are. Being able to change it by working out and eating well, that’s a different thing. It’s more about the way you are and the way you accept yourself and whether you accept your flaws or you try to beat yourself down all the time comparing yourself to someone else.

What do you think of RTNT?

On my fitness account, I get girls who DM me and say they have self-image problems. They will say all sorts of things like they think they’re ugly, fat and that they need to lose this and that. I find it very scary actually, because when I look at their accounts, I realise a lot of them are, in very shallow terms, very pretty, beautiful and have very nice bodies. But when they see someone else who is “better than them”, they start to beat themselves up and think they’re never good enough.

When they ask me how I can encourage them or how I can help them change, I always try to share my story. I think RTNT has a great compilation of stories from everybody. It’s so much better because you know it’s not just one person experiencing the same thing as you, it’s everyone too. Almost everyone has that one phase in their life where they face self-image problems. The important thing is to help them get out of it.