Paulina’s Truth

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.

Perfection is a fairy tale - it doesn’t exist. Even the most accomplished human beings on our planet have flaws, because (hello?) they’re human! So why do we still place so much pressure on ourselves and others to be perfect?

As an aspiring dancer in Poland, Paulina did everything she could to be the perfect ballerina--from doing pirouettes with perfect form to obsessing over having the perfect, petite “ballet body.” When she developed large breasts, she was told she was too top-heavy to be a professional dancer. Paulina hated everything that made her body too imperfect to dance, and hid herself away from the world.

A near-death experience changed everything. After losing a child to an ectopic pregnancy, Paulina found the inner grace to accept herself for who she was, the way she was. Her new found self-love put her back in the spotlight--this time as a plus-size model. Now she dances in all her beautiful, human imperfection--and inspires others to take joy in their own bodies, just as they are.

Are you dancing in your own, unique beauty?

This is her truth.

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


When you are in such a horrible situation, in a hospital, and they say you might want to say goodbye to your friends... it kind of shakes you down and changes everything. It changes how you look at the world, changes the way you think, the way you do, everything. So I kind of started enjoying life and accepting life the way it is, and I accepted me, for who I am, the way I am.

This is Paulina’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

Hi, my name is Paulina and I am from Poland.

I never went to normal school, I went to ballet school, national ballet school. It was quite tough because you had to always give 100%, you could never have a bad day. They would weight us every week, measure us every week, ballerinas are generally very slim and petite and something that I wasn’t.

I never liked my body, I always hated it because of the constant measurements and constant weighing us and we would be told that oh no, you’re too fat you need to lose weight. I remember being told that I need to lose my boobs, how do you do that? So I would hate, I would hate my body a lot, for a long time I would hate my breasts, I would never wear V neck, I would never, I never had a single photo in a bathing suit, until I was 27.

In 2011 I lost a child, I was pregnant 5 months and then I was told I had ectopic pregnancy that nobody knew before and actually I had a 40% chance to survive. When you are in such a horrible situation, like in a hospital and they say well, you might wanna say goodbye to your friends, it kind shakes you down and changes everything. I kinda started enjoying life and accepting life the way it is, I accepted me, for who I am, the way I am and realized, well if you don’t like it, don’t look at me.

I got offered a modelling job as a plus size model, essentially doing lingerie shoots, bikini shoots and wearing clothes that I wouldn’t wear normally, and then see those photos on a high street and then there are photos of me on lingerie everywhere, that kinda obligated me to look at myself. Now I can look at the photos without photoshop and it’s like what… and it’s fine.

Many girls write to me on social media saying like oh, you’re such an example to all of us because you’re not just the typical standard model. In fact people like the fact that I’m not perfect, they like the fact that I have cellulite, they like the fact that I have a little extra rolls there, here and there, and suddenly my flaws become my attributes and suddenly those flaws are the reason why I work so much.

Our body don’t define us, they never did and they never will, so, don’t worry about the things you don’t like because it’s probably just inside your head.

I'm Paulina and this is my truth.