This I Believe (essay)
Word Count : 311 (rough draft)
Everywhere that I look, ads are telling me that I am either too fat and need to lose weight, or too skinny and need to go to an eating disorder clinic. On the facebook ad bar, I've been given ads for weight loss products that could “help you lose 10 lbs in 5 days” right above an ad for a cheap eating disorder clinic in San Francisco, California. Even my friends now, talk about their weight as if it were nothing. “I'm going to lose thirty pounds by the end of the semester,” and “My BMI is off the charts, I'm so fat”. Since when did our lives start to revolve around our weight?
Through my months at the Sheppard Pratt Center for Eating Disorders and the year and a half of therapy that followed I have come to terms with my body. I have been given what God, or science, has given to me. My bone structure is small, because the bone structures of my ancestors were typically small also. I have a “stomach pooch” because when I get older, someday, I am going to have a baby, and well, my baby will need some cushion. I even stand the way I stand, pigeon toed because that’s exactly how I am supposed to be. In the hospital my weight was so low that I should have stopped having my period, my heart rate should have dropped well below normal, and I should have looked more emaciated than I really did. But somehow, my body kept me as healthy as it could with what I was giving it. My own body saved my life, when I respected it so little.
I believe we need to learn to accept our bodies for what they are, and even more, to love our bodies for what they do for us.
you don't understand ow much respect I have fore you for always talking about how you struggled with your eating disorder! you are so unbelievably strong! nice blog! and i do agree ads always make us feel like were too fat, but we have to all learn to just ignore them!
ReplyDeleteHey Rachel, I was really impressed by your strength to talk about about the stuggle you overcame. I think that it is great how you now see your body, and now believe in its potential!
ReplyDeleteRachel- I find such strength in your postings. The way you spoke about your body protecting you and your acceptance helps me. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all... Great final decision on the title. The second paragraph- opening sentence. I suggest putting "in addition to" after "Sheppard Pratt Center for Eating Disorders"....and take out "and"..... it would make the flow better. I love the last line before your belief statement. Beautiful muh lady :)
ReplyDeleteYour voice is so strong in your writing and it is amazing. I think you did a really good job of saying everything that you could have possibly wanted to say. The only thing is the "also" at the end of your bone structure sentence. I don't know why, but it seems to mess with the flow a bit. You might want to try finding another word or something, but it was a very good essay!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed watching you read this in front of us on Monday. We are fortunate enough for you to share all of this with us.
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