Discovering Jill’s Truth #ThisIsMyTruth

This video is part of Shapermint’s #ThisIsMyTruth campaign, launched to spark up an honest-to-heart conversation about our own bodies, through the personal stories of four extraordinary women.

Do you know who you really are? How would your friends describe you? Does their description match your own? These are fairly simple questions but, for some of us, they tend to be loaded with insecurities deep-rooted in our past.

Jill found out the painful way. After her husband died, her entire life was shaken to the core. Everything she ever held dear to her heart -everything that had ever defined her- was suddenly ripped from below her feet.

It was excruciating. But she came out the other side stronger than ever, with a true sense of who she really was - or who she really could be now, far away from her childhood hangups and wife-centric roles. With time, the reinventions stopped and her inner light was finally able to shine through.

Does yours?

This is her truth.

Discover Jill’s story in the video below. (No time to watch videos? Find the entire transcript below.)


After my husband died so suddenly, I felt numb for so long. I just really embraced my friends - I picked people in my life that make me happy and make me feel good about myself. After two and a half years or so of being alone I’m learning how to just really love and accept myself and appreciate myself in a new way, and not doing it for what someone else wants me to be.

This is Jill’s truth. What’s yours?

Share your story of self-love and body confidence using #ThisIsMyTruth on social media. It’s your turn to erase the shame away and inspire all women to let their inner light shine through!

Watch the #ThisIsMyTruth campaign video below:


Video Transcript

I’m Jill Collins, I’m originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

I grew up in the midwest in Wisconsin until I was 7, and then my parents, we all moved to Atlanta.

I felt it was a very big of a culture shock for me. I always felt like being a shorter girl and a little bit over, not overweight but a little chunkier.I wasn't very athletic, so you know I was always one of the last girls to get picked on the teams. People would say I was plump. My body just wasn't proportionate, you know my breasts were small and my butt was big and my, you know I was short waisted and my thighs are huge.

I guess I secretly wanted to look like everybody else.

After my husband died a few years ago my weight completely changed. I can look back on it now and I felt so numb for so long. It's a numbing feeling for a while when you're going through such a sudden grief and a sudden loss that you do everything you can just to hang on to survive.

When he died, I just really embraced my friends. I picked people in my life that make me happy and make me feel good about myself. This is probably the first time I’ve had female friends to any extent, because I think growing up I was picked on so much in school by girls and I didn't trust girls.

I think I have more confidence today than I ever have. And I like myself right now, I'm really I've come full circle after this two and a half years or so of being alone. I'm learning, I'm learning how to just really love and accept myself and appreciate myself in a new way and not doing it for what someone else wants me to be. And I'd say this is probably the first time I've ever truly done that, actually never had a chance to experience that and not looked at what to the popular people at 14 think of me and how should I be and then when I was single, you know as an adult and how should I behave in business, and then being married even.

Surround yourself around people that are going to lift you up, not bring you down. Just love yourself and things about, find things about yourself that you love. Because only you get to shape who you are.

I’m Jill and this is my truth.