"A Pound Does Not a Person Make" by Tristan Poindexter is an incredibly emotional and brave memoir where she describes her struggle with her weight and the bullying—both from peers and society— associated with it. She tells about her numerous experiences including not being able to fit in a dress, being called "fat" for the first time, being self-conscious about what she eats, and getting harassed by her classmates. Tristan also mentions how she sees prejudice "in the clothing racks at department stores, in the magazines that criticize celebrities who gain even a pound, in the catalogues and ads and television shows that glorify the slim figure as the definition of beauty."
     I found it amazing how Tristan was able to shine a light on this important topic through her own experiences. She wasn't afraid to share her emotions in this piece. With lines like "By then I had learned why fat was bad—fat is ugly, disgusting, grotesque," Tristan was able to summarize why being fat is deemed unattractive and wrong by fashion magazines, clothing stores, and ignorant people alike. She bravely put herself and her shame out there to teach that fat is not equal to ugly. Not meeting society's norms does not make anyone less of a person. As Tristan referenced in her title, a person's weight does not make or define who they are.