I am friendly, compassionate, ambitious and impatient 

I am who I am today because of both the advantages and hardships that I have endured

I was a child who was always very passionate about learning

I was a child who never quite felt like she was good enough

I was a child who was constantly exposed to conversations about diets and weight loss by my mother

I was a child who began throwing my school lunches out at the age of 5

I was a child who began body shaming at the age of 8

I was a child who began intentionally trying to lose weight at the age of 9 

I was a child who was bullied throughout the fifth grade

I was a preteen who was praised by her peers for her "thinness" after having had mono

I was a preteen who struggled to make friends and find ny place in middle school

I was a teen who felt rejected by the first boy I expressed feelings for

I was a teen who was horrified by the number she saw on the scale

I was a teen who began running everyday

I was a teen who decreased my food intake significantly 

I was a teen who was officially diagnosed with anorexia nervosa 

I was a teen who was put into the hospital

I was a teen who had feeding tubes

I was the teen who was diagnosed with epilepsy

I was the teen who had a heart rate of 28 due to heart damage caused by my eating disorder 

I was a teen who attended bi-weekly therapy sessions throughout my high school career

I was a teen who, despite life's difficulties, always made honor roll 

I was a teen who finally began to understand that the number on the scale does not define who you are

I was a teen who discovered a love of psychology

I was a teen who found out that her mom had been cheating on her dad for a year

I was a teen who accepted the fact that her parents were going to get divorced

I was a teen who was applying to colleges while my home life was falling apart

I was a teen who was determined to stay healthy and go to college

I was a teen who made it through her senior year of high school

I was a teen who graduated 

I am determined to someday earn my doctorate in psychology

I am scheduled to move into college in 4 days

I am a young, college bound girl