The Summer I Stopped Apologizing for Taking Up Space
Written by Savannah Chrisley
Published August 29, 2026
Y'all. It's the last weekend of August and I'm sitting on my back porch in Nashville with a cup of coffee that's gone lukewarm because I've been too busy thinking to drink it. That's kind of where my head's been all summer.
This is the summer I stopped apologizing for taking up space. And I don't just mean physically... though Lord knows I've had a whole journey with my body. I mean all of it. My voice. My opinions. My needs. The room I take up just by existing.
For so long I lived like I owed everybody an explanation. For my weight. For my choices. For raising Chloe and Grayson the way I see fit. For running GoodGirlRx while the whole world watched and had opinions. I used to shrink myself down so small, hoping if I took up less room, less of me could be criticized. Anybody else do that? Just... make yourself tiny so nobody can find anything wrong?
What my body taught me
I've been so honest with y'all about my endometriosis. About gaining 40 pounds in three months and feeling like a stranger in my own skin. About standing on a scale and seeing a number I never thought I'd see and having to choose between hating myself or having grace with myself.
I chose grace. Not perfectly. Not every single day. Some mornings I still catch my reflection and that old critical voice sneaks in. But I've learned that my body isn't a problem to solve for everyone else's comfort. It's the thing that carries me through hosting the podcast, chasing Grayson around, showing up for Chloe, building something I'm proud of. It deserves care, not punishment.
Part of that care for me has been getting real support instead of white-knuckling it. Working with providers on my hormones, finding what actually helps my body function instead of fighting it. When we built GoodGirlRx, that was the whole point... women deserve to have someone in their corner who actually listens. Whether that's a GLP-1 conversation or something as simple as B12 when you're running on empty. No shame. No lectures. Just help.
“You are not too much. You never were. The people who made you feel that way just didn't have room for someone as big as you were always meant to be.”
My therapist said something to me this summer that cracked me wide open. She said, 'Savannah, you've spent your whole life auditioning for love.' And whew. She was right. I've been performing. Being agreeable. Being the strong one. Being whatever version of me kept the peace. And this summer I just... stopped. I let myself be honest. Angry when I was angry. Soft when I was tired. Loud when it mattered.
Here's what taking up space actually looked like for me these past few months:
- Saying no without writing a five-paragraph explanation.
- Wearing the swimsuit at 160 pounds and getting in the water anyway.
- Setting a boundary with someone I love and not caving 20 minutes later.
- Praying for exactly what I want instead of what I think I'm allowed to have.
- Letting Chloe see me rest so she learns she's allowed to.
That last one matters so much to me. Chloe is 13 and she watches everything I do. Everything. If I stand in front of the mirror talking bad about myself, she learns that's what women do. But if she watches me be gentle with my body, take up space, ask for help... then maybe she never has to spend her twenties unlearning what I did.
So as we close out this summer, I'm not the same girl I was in June. I'm heavier in some places, lighter in others. More honest. More whole. Still figuring it out, still leaning on my faith, my family, my mama's voice in my head. But I'm done apologizing for existing fully. Fall's coming, and I'm walking into it as all of me. With love, Savannah xo
You deserve someone in your corner
If your body's been feeling like a stranger lately, you don't have to figure it out alone. Come talk to us at GoodGirlRx — no shame, just support.
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