Shannon Thomas was excited to turn sixteen. When the big day came, she got a gift that would alter the way she spent her time and the person she was. It was a gym membership.

“At first I was just going every once and awhile. But that summer, I was like, this is kind of cool,” Thomas said. “So I started watching youtube videos and getting into weightlifting.”

Almost two years later, Thomas works out six days a week for approximately 2 hours. “Fitness is a really big part of my life,” Thomas said. “It has definitely become a stress reliever for me. If I have an exam coming up I can go to the gym before I study because it just releases all my stress.”

Fitness has become such a big part of Thomas’s life that she has taken her passion to social media. “I made an instagram account to inspire other people and help them achieve what they want,” Thomas said. “And also just to hold myself accountable for actually improving my progress.”

“Something that drives me and motivates me is seeing the progress,” Thomas said. “Because, when I first started, I wasn’t really comfortable with my body and I didn’t like how I looked.”

This lack of body confidence is something that many young girls and women go through. “Social media has a huge impact,” Thomas said. “At least on me it has, and it shouldn’t be that way.”

Thomas wants young women to be healthy, and she has a message for anyone facing the hardships of low self-esteem.

“Don’t try and be someone your not, and don’t try and like those women on social media if it is going to affect your health. If you want to eat a cookie, eat a cookie. And just remember to be healthy and to love yourself.”