On December 2, 2020, I was diagnosed with a severe case of Anorexia Nervosa. Anorexia is what the doctors would say I was struggling with, but to me it was more than just a word. In my own words, I was suffering from the irrational and deathly fear of calories and food in general. Now to backtrack a little, I developed my eating disorder during the first Coronavirus outbreak. I began working out a lot, cutting out my favorite foods, and later became terrified of eating anything with calories. Once my parents noticed how I had lost weight and got nervous around food, they decided to find a treatment plan for me. This is when they took me to the Children’s Hospital at UAB, where I would see an in-patient eating disorder specialist. The doctor who saved my life will forever have an impact on me. She stated that I was the lowest-weight patient she had ever seen in her clinic and highly recommended sending me to an inpatient treatment facility. After hearing all this, my family and I both decided I could battle this life-threatening illness with my strength and willpower, my family’s help, and God’s power. During the worst and most terrifying time of my life, school became a serious struggle. My mental health was also deteriorating. My closest friends noticed, and even ones who were not close began to ask me if I was okay. The truth is, I was not. I was lying to everyone around me by putting on a fake smile, laughing, and brushing off their comments. Scientifically speaking, school was hard due to my restriction, lack of focus, fatigue, and loss of interest. Emotionally, I had lost touch with my own feelings, causing me to distance myself from my friends. Physically, I looked emotionally drained every day (because I was), uncomfortable in chairs due to being so bony, and was overall too tired to be my true self. Mentally, I had been pushing others away and fighting alone. I also missed school more during this time than I ever had before. Battling anorexia during high school took a significant toll on my mental health, grades, and life in general. My illness and visiting the UAB Children’s Hospital, being treated by several amazing doctors impacted my decision on what to do with my life. After basically facing death, I realized I wanted to save lives, like mine had been. I wanted to pursue nursing, and I hope to later become a trauma nurse or specialize in nutrition. As a “glass half full” person, I choose to see the benefits of being diagnosed with anorexia, and one major benefit is knowing that I want to save other people’s lives by majoring in nursing! While typing this now, I am proud to say that I am on the road to full recovery and proud of how I have changed my life for the better. Although I struggled for well over a year (and will always have this struggle), I am thankful for what this challenging journey has brought me. I am so thankful to not only have peace of mind knowing what I want to do with my future, but to be right here today, able to tell my story. Anorexia is a tough illness but I will not let it define me! I am currently a sophomore at The University of Alabama pursuing my dream and majoring in Nursing.

On December 2, 2020, I was diagnosed with a severe case of Anorexia Nervosa. Anorexia is what the doctors would say I was struggling with, but to me it was more than just a word. In my own words, I was suffering from the irrational and deathly fear of calories and food in general. Now to backtrack a little, I developed my eating disorder during the first Coronavirus outbreak. I began working out a lot, cutting out my favorite foods, and later became terrified of eating anything with calories. Once my parents noticed how I had lost weight and got nervous around food, they decided to find a treatment plan for me. This is when they took me to the Children’s Hospital at UAB, where I would see an in-patient eating disorder specialist. The doctor who saved my life will forever have an impact on me. She stated that I was the lowest-weight patient she had ever seen in her clinic and highly recommended sending me to an inpatient treatment facility. After hearing all this, my family and I both decided I could battle this life-threatening illness with my strength and willpower, my family’s help, and God’s power. During the worst and most terrifying time of my life, school became a serious struggle. My mental health was also deteriorating. My closest friends noticed, and even ones who were not close began to ask me if I was okay. The truth is, I was not. I was lying to everyone around me by putting on a fake smile, laughing, and brushing off their comments. Scientifically speaking, school was hard due to my restriction, lack of focus, fatigue, and loss of interest. Emotionally, I had lost touch with my own feelings, causing me to distance myself from my friends. Physically, I looked emotionally drained every day (because I was), uncomfortable in chairs due to being so bony, and was overall too tired to be my true self. Mentally, I had been pushing others away and fighting alone. I also missed school more during this time than I ever had before. Battling anorexia during high school took a significant toll on my mental health, grades, and life in general. My illness and visiting the UAB Children’s Hospital, being treated by several amazing doctors impacted my decision on what to do with my life. After basically facing death, I realized I wanted to save lives, like mine had been. I wanted to pursue nursing, and I hope to later become a trauma nurse or specialize in nutrition. As a “glass half full” person, I choose to see the benefits of being diagnosed with anorexia, and one major benefit is knowing that I want to save other people’s lives by majoring in nursing! While typing this now, I am proud to say that I am on the road to full recovery and proud of how I have changed my life for the better. Although I struggled for well over a year (and will always have this struggle), I am thankful for what this challenging journey has brought me. I am so thankful to not only have peace of mind knowing what I want to do with my future, but to be right here today, able to tell my story. Anorexia is a tough illness but I will not let it define me! I am currently a sophomore at The University of Alabama pursuing my dream and majoring in Nursing.

On December 2, 2020, I was diagnosed with a severe case of Anorexia Nervosa. Anorexia is what the doctors would say I was struggling with, but to me it was more than just a word. In my own words, I was suffering from the irrational and deathly fear of calories and food in general. Now to backtrack a little, I developed my eating disorder during the first Coronavirus outbreak. I began working out a lot, cutting out my favorite foods, and later became terrified of eating anything with calories. Once my parents noticed how I had lost weight and got nervous around food, they decided to find a treatment plan for me. This is when they took me to the Children’s Hospital at UAB, where I would see an in-patient eating disorder specialist. The doctor who saved my life will forever have an impact on me. She stated that I was the lowest-weight patient she had ever seen in her clinic and highly recommended sending me to an inpatient treatment facility. After hearing all this, my family and I both decided I could battle this life-threatening illness with my strength and willpower, my family’s help, and God’s power. During the worst and most terrifying time of my life, school became a serious struggle. My mental health was also deteriorating. My closest friends noticed, and even ones who were not close began to ask me if I was okay. The truth is, I was not. I was lying to everyone around me by putting on a fake smile, laughing, and brushing off their comments. Scientifically speaking, school was hard due to my restriction, lack of focus, fatigue, and loss of interest. Emotionally, I had lost touch with my own feelings, causing me to distance myself from my friends. Physically, I looked emotionally drained every day (because I was), uncomfortable in chairs due to being so bony, and was overall too tired to be my true self. Mentally, I had been pushing others away and fighting alone. I also missed school more during this time than I ever had before. Battling anorexia during high school took a significant toll on my mental health, grades, and life in general. My illness and visiting the UAB Children’s Hospital, being treated by several amazing doctors impacted my decision on what to do with my life. After basically facing death, I realized I wanted to save lives, like mine had been. I wanted to pursue nursing, and I hope to later become a trauma nurse or specialize in nutrition. As a “glass half full” person, I choose to see the benefits of being diagnosed with anorexia, and one major benefit is knowing that I want to save other people’s lives by majoring in nursing! While typing this now, I am proud to say that I am on the road to full recovery and proud of how I have changed my life for the better. Although I struggled for well over a year (and will always have this struggle), I am thankful for what this challenging journey has brought me. I am so thankful to not only have peace of mind knowing what I want to do with my future, but to be right here today, able to tell my story. Anorexia is a tough illness but I will not let it define me! I am currently a sophomore at The University of Alabama pursuing my dream and majoring in Nursing.

On December 2, 2020, I was diagnosed with a severe case of Anorexia Nervosa. Anorexia is what the doctors would say I was struggling with, but to me it was more than just a word. In my own words, I was suffering from the irrational and deathly fear of calories and food in general. Now to backtrack a little, I developed my eating disorder during the first Coronavirus outbreak. I began working out a lot, cutting out my favorite foods, and later became terrified of eating anything with calories. Once my parents noticed how I had lost weight and got nervous around food, they decided to find a treatment plan for me. This is when they took me to the Children’s Hospital at UAB, where I would see an in-patient eating disorder specialist. The doctor who saved my life will forever have an impact on me. She stated that I was the lowest-weight patient she had ever seen in her clinic and highly recommended sending me to an inpatient treatment facility. After hearing all this, my family and I both decided I could battle this life-threatening illness with my strength and willpower, my family’s help, and God’s power. During the worst and most terrifying time of my life, school became a serious struggle. My mental health was also deteriorating. My closest friends noticed, and even ones who were not close began to ask me if I was okay. The truth is, I was not. I was lying to everyone around me by putting on a fake smile, laughing, and brushing off their comments. Scientifically speaking, school was hard due to my restriction, lack of focus, fatigue, and loss of interest. Emotionally, I had lost touch with my own feelings, causing me to distance myself from my friends. Physically, I looked emotionally drained every day (because I was), uncomfortable in chairs due to being so bony, and was overall too tired to be my true self. Mentally, I had been pushing others away and fighting alone. I also missed school more during this time than I ever had before. Battling anorexia during high school took a significant toll on my mental health, grades, and life in general. My illness and visiting the UAB Children’s Hospital, being treated by several amazing doctors impacted my decision on what to do with my life. After basically facing death, I realized I wanted to save lives, like mine had been. I wanted to pursue nursing, and I hope to later become a trauma nurse or specialize in nutrition. As a “glass half full” person, I choose to see the benefits of being diagnosed with anorexia, and one major benefit is knowing that I want to save other people’s lives by majoring in nursing! While typing this now, I am proud to say that I am on the road to full recovery and proud of how I have changed my life for the better. Although I struggled for well over a year (and will always have this struggle), I am thankful for what this challenging journey has brought me. I am so thankful to not only have peace of mind knowing what I want to do with my future, but to be right here today, able to tell my story. Anorexia is a tough illness but I will not let it define me! I am currently a sophomore at The University of Alabama pursuing my dream and majoring in Nursing.

On December 2, 2020, I was diagnosed with a severe case of Anorexia Nervosa. Anorexia is what the doctors would say I was struggling with, but to me it was more than just a word. In my own words, I was suffering from the irrational and deathly fear of calories and food in general. Now to backtrack a little, I developed my eating disorder during the first Coronavirus outbreak. I began working out a lot, cutting out my favorite foods, and later became terrified of eating anything with calories. Once my parents noticed how I had lost weight and got nervous around food, they decided to find a treatment plan for me. This is when they took me to the Children’s Hospital at UAB, where I would see an in-patient eating disorder specialist. The doctor who saved my life will forever have an impact on me. She stated that I was the lowest-weight patient she had ever seen in her clinic and highly recommended sending me to an inpatient treatment facility. After hearing all this, my family and I both decided I could battle this life-threatening illness with my strength and willpower, my family’s help, and God’s power. During the worst and most terrifying time of my life, school became a serious struggle. My mental health was also deteriorating. My closest friends noticed, and even ones who were not close began to ask me if I was okay. The truth is, I was not. I was lying to everyone around me by putting on a fake smile, laughing, and brushing off their comments. Scientifically speaking, school was hard due to my restriction, lack of focus, fatigue, and loss of interest. Emotionally, I had lost touch with my own feelings, causing me to distance myself from my friends. Physically, I looked emotionally drained every day (because I was), uncomfortable in chairs due to being so bony, and was overall too tired to be my true self. Mentally, I had been pushing others away and fighting alone. I also missed school more during this time than I ever had before. Battling anorexia during high school took a significant toll on my mental health, grades, and life in general. My illness and visiting the UAB Children’s Hospital, being treated by several amazing doctors impacted my decision on what to do with my life. After basically facing death, I realized I wanted to save lives, like mine had been. I wanted to pursue nursing, and I hope to later become a trauma nurse or specialize in nutrition. As a “glass half full” person, I choose to see the benefits of being diagnosed with anorexia, and one major benefit is knowing that I want to save other people’s lives by majoring in nursing! While typing this now, I am proud to say that I am on the road to full recovery and proud of how I have changed my life for the better. Although I struggled for well over a year (and will always have this struggle), I am thankful for what this challenging journey has brought me. I am so thankful to not only have peace of mind knowing what I want to do with my future, but to be right here today, able to tell my story. Anorexia is a tough illness but I will not let it define me! I am currently a sophomore at The University of Alabama pursuing my dream and majoring in Nursing.

On December 2, 2020, I was diagnosed with a severe case of Anorexia Nervosa. Anorexia is what the doctors would say I was struggling with, but to me it was more than just a word. In my own words, I was suffering from the irrational and deathly fear of calories and food in general. Now to backtrack a little, I developed my eating disorder during the first Coronavirus outbreak. I began working out a lot, cutting out my favorite foods, and later became terrified of eating anything with calories. Once my parents noticed how I had lost weight and got nervous around food, they decided to find a treatment plan for me. This is when they took me to the Children’s Hospital at UAB, where I would see an in-patient eating disorder specialist. The doctor who saved my life will forever have an impact on me. She stated that I was the lowest-weight patient she had ever seen in her clinic and highly recommended sending me to an inpatient treatment facility. After hearing all this, my family and I both decided I could battle this life-threatening illness with my strength and willpower, my family’s help, and God’s power. During the worst and most terrifying time of my life, school became a serious struggle. My mental health was also deteriorating. My closest friends noticed, and even ones who were not close began to ask me if I was okay. The truth is, I was not. I was lying to everyone around me by putting on a fake smile, laughing, and brushing off their comments. Scientifically speaking, school was hard due to my restriction, lack of focus, fatigue, and loss of interest. Emotionally, I had lost touch with my own feelings, causing me to distance myself from my friends. Physically, I looked emotionally drained every day (because I was), uncomfortable in chairs due to being so bony, and was overall too tired to be my true self. Mentally, I had been pushing others away and fighting alone. I also missed school more during this time than I ever had before. Battling anorexia during high school took a significant toll on my mental health, grades, and life in general. My illness and visiting the UAB Children’s Hospital, being treated by several amazing doctors impacted my decision on what to do with my life. After basically facing death, I realized I wanted to save lives, like mine had been. I wanted to pursue nursing, and I hope to later become a trauma nurse, or specialize in nutrition. As a “glass half full” person, I choose to see the benefits of being diagnosed with anorexia, and one major benefit is knowing that I want to save other people’s lives by majoring in nursing! While typing this now, I am proud to say that I am on the road to full recovery and proud of how I have changed my life for the better. Although I struggled for well over a year (and will always have this struggle), I am thankful for what this challenging journey has brought me. I am so thankful to not only have peace of mind knowing what I want to do with my future, but to be right here today, able to tell my story. Anorexia is a tough illness but I will not let it define me! I am currently a freshman at The University of Alabama pursuing my dream and majoring in Nursing.

On December 2, 2020, I was diagnosed with a severe case of Anorexia Nervosa. Anorexia is what the doctors would say I was struggling with, but to me it was more than just a word. In my own words, I was suffering from the irrational and deathly fear of calories and food in general. Now to backtrack a little, I developed my eating disorder during the first Coronavirus outbreak. I began working out a lot, cutting out my favorite foods, and later became terrified of eating anything with calories. Once my parents noticed how I had lost weight and got nervous around food, they decided to find a treatment plan for me. This is when they took me to the Children’s Hospital at UAB, where I would see an in-patient eating disorder specialist. The doctor who saved my life will forever have an impact on me. She stated that I was the lowest-weight patient she had ever seen in her clinic and highly recommended sending me to an inpatient treatment facility. After hearing all this, my family and I both decided I could battle this life-threatening illness with my strength and willpower, my family’s help, and God’s power. During the worst and most terrifying time of my life, school became a serious struggle. My mental health was also deteriorating. My closest friends noticed, and even ones who were not close began to ask me if I was okay. The truth is, I was not. I was lying to everyone around me by putting on a fake smile, laughing, and brushing off their comments. Scientifically speaking, school was hard due to my restriction, lack of focus, fatigue, and loss of interest. Emotionally, I had lost touch with my own feelings, causing me to distance myself from my friends. Physically, I looked emotionally drained every day (because I was), uncomfortable in chairs due to being so bony, and was overall too tired to be my true self. Mentally, I had been pushing others away and fighting alone. I also missed school more during this time than I ever had before. Battling anorexia during high school took a significant toll on my mental health, grades, and life in general. My illness and visiting the UAB Children’s Hospital, being treated by several amazing doctors impacted my decision on what to do with my life. After basically facing death, I realized I wanted to save lives, like mine had been. I wanted to pursue nursing, and I hope to later become a trauma nurse or specialize in nutrition. As a “glass half full” person, I choose to see the benefits of being diagnosed with anorexia, and one major benefit is knowing that I want to save other people’s lives by majoring in nursing! While typing this now, I am proud to say that I am on the road to full recovery and proud of how I have changed my life for the better. Although I struggled for well over a year (and will always have this struggle), I am thankful for what this challenging journey has brought me. I am so thankful to not only have peace of mind knowing what I want to do with my future, but to be right here today, able to tell my story. Anorexia is a tough illness but I will not let it define me! I am currently a freshman at The University of Alabama pursuing my dream and majoring in Nursing. My illness has also let me to be a health ambassador with Project Health at UA. I volunteer to promote healthy living during college.

On December 2, 2020, I was diagnosed with a severe case of Anorexia Nervosa. Anorexia is what the doctors would say I was struggling with, but to me it was more than just a word. In my own words, I was suffering from the irrational and deathly fear of calories and food in general. Now to backtrack a little, I developed my eating disorder during the first Coronavirus outbreak. I began working out a lot, cutting out my favorite foods, and later became terrified of eating anything with calories. Once my parents noticed how I had lost weight and got nervous around food, they decided to find a treatment plan for me. This is when they took me to the Children’s Hospital at UAB, where I would see an in-patient eating disorder specialist. The doctor who saved my life will forever have an impact on me. She stated that I was the lowest-weight patient she had ever seen in her clinic and highly recommended sending me to an inpatient treatment facility. After hearing all this, my family and I both decided I could battle this life-threatening illness with my strength and willpower, my family’s help, and God’s power. During the worst and most terrifying time of my life, school became a serious struggle. My mental health was also deteriorating. My closest friends noticed, and even ones who were not close began to ask me if I was okay. The truth is, I was not. I was lying to everyone around me by putting on a fake smile, laughing, and brushing off their comments. Scientifically speaking, school was hard due to my restriction, lack of focus, fatigue, and loss of interest. Emotionally, I had lost touch with my own feelings, causing me to distance myself from my friends. Physically, I looked emotionally drained every day (because I was), uncomfortable in chairs due to being so bony, and was overall too tired to be my true self. Mentally, I had been pushing others away and fighting alone. I also missed school more during this time than I ever had before. Battling anorexia during high school took a significant toll on my mental health, grades, and life in general. My illness and visiting the UAB Children’s Hospital, being treated by several amazing doctors impacted my decision on what to do with my life. After basically facing death, I realized I wanted to save lives, like mine had been. I wanted to pursue nursing, and I hope to later become a trauma nurse, or specialize in nutrition. As a “glass half full” person, I choose to see the benefits of being diagnosed with anorexia, and one major benefit is knowing that I want to save other people’s lives by majoring in nursing! While typing this now, I am proud to say that I am on the road to full recovery and proud of how I have changed my life for the better. Although I struggled for well over a year (and will always have this struggle), I am thankful for what this challenging journey has brought me. I am so thankful to not only have peace of mind knowing what I want to do with my future, but to be right here today, able to tell my story. Anorexia is a tough illness but I will not let it define me! I am currently a freshman at The University of Alabama pursuing my dream and majoring in Nursing.

In a field of pine trees, I am a magnolia. Being a freshman at one of the largest SEC schools is hard. Don’t get me wrong. It’s absolutely awesome but it can be horrible at times. I think that it this is probably true at most any school these days. Social media has made all of us a bit insane. The “world” in in our face all of the time. We see your fancy dorm rooms, your expensive shoes, your spray tan, your hair extensions, your dupe jewelry, and everything else that you consider relevant. It makes it hard to just be me. I just want to enjoy life, be healthy, get a great education, and one day be an amazing nurse. You see, social media almost killed me when I was in high school. I constantly compared myself to others. I wanted to be the girl who made great grades, had lots of friends, and looked good in all the outfits. This caused me to develop an eating disorder. This eating disorder almost cut my life short. Thankfully my parents realized what was going on and got me the help I needed. My junior and senior year were practically a blur as I had weekly doctor and therapy appointments. I had to learn that I am enough. I am who God meant for me to be. I had to learn to stop comparing myself to others. In today’s world it is really hard to not compare yourself to others. I had to realize that the people I saw in social media are not any better than me. They just chose to share the highlights and not the real life. This brings me to how I plan to give back. During my treatment for my eating disorder, I met some of the nicest doctors and nurses. They saved my life. They helped me to understand that my body physically and mentally needs nourishment. A few months into my treatment I had to spend the day at the hospital getting all sorts of tests run. During the time between tests I found myself just watching all of the families and medical staff coming in and out. There were babies crying, moms sitting nervously in the waiting room, grandparents trying to communicate with each other, doctors walking swiftly down the halls, and nurses putting a smile on their faces. It was then that I truly discovered that I wanted to work in the health profession. I want to help others just as they helped me. I know I will fulfill this dream of mine. I am here and I am me and I am thankful.

I consider myself to like a butterfly. I had to learn the hard way that change is good. Change is needed. Change can be beautiful. And change was necessary in order for me to live and even be able to attend college. During the beginning of the Covid pandemic, I became seriously ill with an eating disorder. Food and exercise consumed every second of every day of my life. When my mom finally caught on to what was happening to me, it was almost too late. I owe my life to the fabulous doctors at Children’s Hospital in Birmingham. I began going to the eating disorder clinic weekly and had two separate therapists and a dietitian that I met with regularly. This mental illness took over my life. It took me to the darkest place I have ever been. I can proudly say that after two years of meeting with doctors, therapists, and dietitians, I am on the road to full recovery. In fact, I am doing so well that my parents actually let me move out and attend the college of my dreams. I have learned that I must balance my load and maintain both my mental and physical health. I accomplish this by eating three meals and various snacks daily. Most of my meals are healthy but if I want cake, I eat cake! Finally achieving food freedom has been fantastic! I also enjoy going to the gym a few days a week, taking walks around campus with friends, and checking in with my therapist biweekly. I am so thankful for my parents, my doctors, my therapists, my friends, and my extended family. I am thankful I was pushed and I do mean pushed to get the help I needed. The journey has not been easy but I feel I have gained so much knowledge about myself and life. I cannot wait to become a nurse and help others the way I have been helped.

onsider myself to like a butterfly. I had to learn the hard way that change is good. Change is needed. Change can be beautiful. And change was necessary in order for me to live and even be able to attend college. During the beginning of the Covid pandemic, I became seriously ill with an eating disorder. Food and exercise consumed every second of every day of my life. When my mom finally caught on to what was happening to me, it was almost too late. I owe my life to the fabulous doctors at Children’s Hospital in Birmingham. I began going to the eating disorder clinic weekly and had two separate therapists and a dietitian that I met with regularly. This mental illness took over my life. It took me to the darkest place I have ever been. I can proudly say that after two years of meeting with doctors, therapists, and dietitians, I am on the road to full recovery. In fact, I am doing so well that my parents actually let me move out and attend the college of my dreams. I have learned that I must balance my load and maintain both my mental and physical health. I accomplish this by eating three meals and various snacks daily. Most of my meals are healthy but if I want cake, I eat cake! Finally achieving food freedom has been fantastic! I also enjoy going to the gym a few days a week, taking walks around campus with friends, and checking in with my therapist biweekly. I am so thankful for my parents, my doctors, my therapists, my friends, and my extended family. I am thankful I was pushed and I do mean pushed to get the help I needed. The journey has not been easy but I feel I have gained so much knowledge about myself and life. I cannot wait to become a nurse and help others the way I have been helped.

I consider myself to like a butterfly. I had to learn the hard way that change is good. Change is needed. And change was necessary in order for me to even be able to attend college. During the beginning of the Covid pandemic, I became seriously ill with an eating disorder. Food and exercise consumed every second of every day of my life. When my mom finally caught on to what was happening to me, it was almost too late. I owe my life to the fabulous doctors at Children’s Hospital in Birmingham. I began going to the eating disorder clinic weekly and had two separate therapists that I met with regularly. This mental illness took over my life. It took me to the darkest place I have ever been. I can proudly say that after two years of meeting with doctors, therapists, and dietitians, I am on the road to full recovery. In fact I am doing so well that my parents actually let me move out and attend the college of my dreams. I have learned that I must balance my load and maintain both my mental and physical health. I accomplish this by eating three meals and various snacks daily, going to the gym a few days a week, taking walks around campus with friends, and check in with my therapist biweekly. I am so thankful for my parents, my doctors, my therapists, my friends, and my extended family. I am thankful I was pushed and I do mean pushed to get the help I needed. The journey has not been easy but I feel I have gained so much knowledge about myself and life. I cannot wait to become a nurse and help others the way I have been helped. Thank you for your consideration and have a blessed day!

Being patient has ultimately saved my life. I was diagnosed with an eating disorder, anorexia, during the first wave of the COVID pandemic. Thankfully, my parents were persistent and got me the treatment I needed. I was so severely malnourished that we all had to have patience and trust the process. It was scary, difficult, and confusing, but I continued to fight through it. My eating disorder had taken over my life and could of ended my life. Having patience and being persistent are what saved my life. There were so many times in the last two years that I could of given up. It took forever to see gains and heal. I will be forever grateful to my medical team and my family for having the patience to help me heal.

December 2, 2020, I was diagnosed with a severe case of Anorexia Nervosa. Anorexia is what the doctors would say I was struggling with, but to me it was more than just a word. I was suffering from the irrational and deathly fear of calories and food. I developed my eating disorder during the Coronavirus outbreak. I began working out tons, cutting out my favorite foods, and became extremely terrified of anything with calories. Once my parents noticed my weight loss and behavior around food, they took me to see an eating disorder specialist at Children’s Hospital UAB. My doctor highly recommended me for inpatient treatment. My family and I decided I could battle this life-threatening illness with my willpower, my family’s help, perseverance and God’s power. During the worst and most terrifying time of my life everything became a struggle. I was not okay. School was hard due to fatigue and loss of interest. Emotionally, I had lost touch with my own feelings and distancing myself. Physically, I looked terrible and felt horrible. Mentally, I was in a downward spiral. Battling anorexia took a significant toll on my mental health, grades, and life in general. I am proud to say that I am on the road to full recovery and proud of how I have changed my life for the better. Persistence has paid off! Although I have struggled for over a year, I am thankful for what this challenge has brought me. I discovered true friends, a new perspective on life, closer connections to my family, and a better idea of what I want to do with my future. I plan to pursue a degree in nursing and save lives, like mine was. I am so thankful to be right here today, able to tell my story.

Food is my fuel! After being diagnosed with anorexia during 2020, I have finally discovered that food is my fuel. I have learned that I need to eat in order to enjoy my life. During the beginning of the COVID pandemic I began focusing on exercising and eating healthy. It soon became an unhealthy obsession. By the time my family noticed what was going on, I was almost too far gone. Thankfully my parents were able to get me into a treatment clinic at a nearby Children’s hospital and also into therapy. This journey has been super hard for me mentally and physically. I began distancing myself from my friends, stressing over academic, and my school activities were limited. My parents were worried about me nonstop. It was a whirlwind of emotions and very scary for all of us. At first, I was resistant to treatment and acknowledging that I even had a problem. After learning that my body was severely malnourished and breaking down, I finally gave in to treatment. I am proud to say that a year and a half later I am on the road to full recovery. Food is my fuel so I can continue my journey. I plan to attend a local college in the fall. I am very fortunate that I will have the opportunity to move out, live on campus, and pursue my dreams of becoming a nurse. I hope to help others who struggle with eating disorders and other mental health issues.

For me, the weirdest thing I’ve ever been told is, “just go eat.” You see, I was diagnosed with anorexia after COVID hit. My mental health was in a whirlwind and I became obsessed with exercise. I then became fearful of most of the foods I traditionally enjoyed. My parents finally noticed and got me the help I needed. This illness just magically appeared in my life. I have always enjoyed working out, being social, and hanging with my friends. COVID took all of that away from me and my mental health went into a state of shock. One of the hardest things with struggling with anorexia is the understanding of it all. My parents, family, friends, teachers, and peers in general had no clue what to say to me. They didn’t get it. Often people would make comments that would just send me deeper into my restriction of food. People who thought they were helping were actually doing more harm than good. In conclusion, be mindful of your words. Telling someone to “just go eat” is never the answer. I am not thankful for my struggle but I am thankful for the awareness it has brought me. I know going forward in life I will always be more cautious about my words.

December 2, 2020, I was diagnosed with a severe case of Anorexia Nervosa. Anorexia is what the doctors would say I was struggling with, but to me it was more than just a word. In my own words, I was suffering from the irrational, and deathly, fear of calories and food in general. Now to backtrack a little, I developed my eating disorder during the first Coronavirus outbreak. I began working out a lot, cutting out my favorite foods, and later became deathly terrified of anything with calories. Once my parents noticed how I had lost weight and got nervous around food, they decided to find a treatment plan for me. This is when they took me to the Children’s Hospital at UAB, where I would see an in-patient eating disorder specialist. My doctor stated that I was the lowest-weight patient she had ever seen in her clinic and highly recommended sending me to an inpatient treatment. We were told I had developed osteopenia. After hearing all this, me and my family both decided I could battle this life-threatening illness with my strength and willpower, my family’s help, and God’s power. During the worst and most terrifying time of my life, school became a serious struggle. My mental health was deteriorating. My closest friends noticed, and even ones who were not close began to ask me if I was okay. The truth is, I was not. I was lying to everyone around me by putting on a fake smile, laughing, and by brushing off their comments. Scientifically speaking, school was hard due to my restriction, causing a lack of focus, fatigue, and loss of interest. Emotionally, I had lost touch with my own feelings, causing me to distance myself from my friends. Physically, I looked terrible and felt horrible. Mentally, I had been pushing others away and fighting alone. School became a serious struggle because I could not focus on schoolwork. I had weekly doctor appointments and therapy sessions. In conclusion, battling anorexia took a significant toll on my mental health, grades, and life in general. After visiting the UAB Children’s Hospital, meeting with several helpful doctors, and experiencing a life-threatening illness impacted my decision on what to do with my life. After basically facing death, I realized I wanted to save lives, like mine had been. I plan to pursue nursing, and I hope to later become a trauma nurse; or specialize in pediatrics or nutrition. As a “glass half full” person, I choose to see the benefits of being diagnosed with anorexia, and one major benefit is knowing that I want to save other people’s lives by going to college and major in nursing! While typing this now, I am proud to say that I am on the road to full recovery and proud of how I have changed my life for the better. Although I have struggled for over a year I am thankful for what this challenging journey has brought me. Not to say I’m thankful for nearly dying, but I am thankful it did bring me true friends, a new perspective on people and this crazy world, closer connections to my family, and a better idea of what I want to do with my future. I am so thankful to not only have peace of mind knowing what I want to do with my future, but to be right here today, able to tell my story. Anorexia is a tough illness; it can creep up when you least expect it, and may always haunt its prey, but I will not let it define me!

December 2, 2020, I was diagnosed with a severe case of Anorexia Nervosa. Anorexia is what the doctors would say I was struggling with, but to me it was more than just a word. In my own words, I was suffering from the irrational, and deathly, fear of calories and food in general. Now to backtrack a little, I developed my eating disorder during the first Coronavirus outbreak. I began working out a lot, cutting out my favorite foods, and later became deathly terrified of anything with calories. Once my parents noticed how I had lost weight and got nervous around food, they decided to find a treatment plan for me. This is when they took me to the Children’s Hospital at UAB, where I would see an in-patient eating disorder specialist. My doctor stated that I was the lowest-weight patient she had ever seen in her clinic and highly recommended sending me to an inpatient treatment. We were told I had developed osteopenia. After hearing all this, me and my family both decided I could battle this life-threatening illness with my strength and willpower, my family’s help, and God’s power. During the worst and most terrifying time of my life, school became a serious struggle. My mental health was deteriorating. My closest friends noticed, and even ones who were not close began to ask me if I was okay. The truth is, I was not. I was lying to everyone around me by putting on a fake smile, laughing, and by brushing off their comments. Scientifically speaking, school was hard due to my restriction, causing a lack of focus, fatigue, and loss of interest. Emotionally, I had lost touch with my own feelings, causing me to distance myself from my friends. Physically, I looked terrible and felt horrible. Mentally, I had been pushing others away and fighting alone. School became a serious struggle because I could not focus on schoolwork. I had weekly doctor appointments and therapy sessions. In conclusion, battling anorexia took a significant toll on my mental health, grades, and life in general. After visiting the UAB Children’s Hospital, meeting with several helpful doctors, and experiencing a life-threatening illness impacted my decision on what to do with my life. After basically facing death, I realized I wanted to save lives, like mine had been. I plan to pursue nursing, and I hope to later become a trauma nurse; or specialize in pediatrics or nutrition. As a “glass half full” person, I choose to see the benefits of being diagnosed with anorexia, and one major benefit is knowing that I want to save other people’s lives by going to college and major in nursing! While typing this now, I am proud to say that I am on the road to full recovery and proud of how I have changed my life for the better. Although I have struggled for over a year I am thankful for what this challenging journey has brought me. Not to say I’m thankful for nearly dying, but I am thankful it did bring me true friends, a new perspective on people and this crazy world, closer connections to my family, and a better idea of what I want to do with my future. I am so thankful to not only have peace of mind knowing what I want to do with my future, but to be right here today, able to tell my story. Anorexia is a tough illness; it can creep up when you least expect it, and may always haunt its prey, but I will not let it define me!

December 2, 2020, I was diagnosed with a severe case of Anorexia Nervosa. Anorexia is what the doctors would say I was struggling with, but to me it was more than just a word. In my own words, I was suffering from the irrational, and deathly, fear of calories and food in general. Now to backtrack a little, I developed my eating disorder during the first Coronavirus outbreak. I began working out a lot, cutting out my favorite foods, and later became deathly terrified of anything with calories. Once my parents, Ashlee and Jimmy Gillespie, noticed how I had lost weight and got nervous around food, they decided to find a treatment plan for me. This is when they took me to the Children’s Hospital at UAB, where I would see an in-patient eating disorder specialist. Dr. Rebekah Savage, the doctor who saved my life and will forever have an impact on me, weighed me, checked my vitals and blood, and talked to me and my parents. She stated that I was the lowest-weight patient she had ever seen in her clinic and highly recommended sending me to an inpatient treatment facility. To make this doctor visit even worse, we were told I had developed osteopenia, which is the stage before osteoporosis (the degradation of the bones). After hearing all this, me and my family both decided I could battle this life-threatening illness with my strength and willpower, my family’s help, and God’s power. During the worst and most terrifying time of my life, school became a serious struggle. In the school year of 2020, my mental health was deteriorating. My closest friends noticed, and even ones who were not close began to ask me if I was okay. The truth is, I was not. I was lying to everyone around me by putting on a fake smile, laughing, and by brushing off their comments. Scientifically speaking, school was hard due to my restriction, causing a lack of focus, fatigue, and loss of interest. Emotionally, I had lost touch with my own feelings, causing me to distance myself from my friends. Physically, I looked emotionally drained every day (because I was), uncomfortable in chairs due to being so bony, and was overall too tired to be my true self. Mentally, I had been pushing others away and fighting alone during the beginning of school, and in December, I began to get the help everyone, but myself, knew I needed. School became a serious struggle not only because I could not focus on schoolwork and socialize with my peers, but also because I had to start going to the doctor as often as a day each week to make sure I was gaining the necessary weight, following my meal plan, not digressing, and so much more. I had to travel to Birmingham every week for a check-up, see a therapist each week, and go to the doctor in Tuscaloosa. I missed school more this year than I ever had if I were to add how many days I missed from each year before. And that says a lot. Overall, this school year was super rough on me. My grades were not my best, I was consumed with thoughts of food all the time, I was tired due to insomnia and fatigue, and I had lost the need to have friends by my side. In conclusion, battling anorexia during school took a significant toll on my mental health, grades, and life in general. Furthermore, while battling anorexia, I realized I no longer knew what I wanted to do with my life. During the 2020-2021 school year, I took a HOSA class which teaches about professions in the medical field, which I had become interested in. Not only had this class changed my mind about my future, but visiting the UAB Children’s Hospital, meeting with several helpful doctors, and experiencing a life-threatening illness impacted my decision on what to do with my life. After basically facing death, I realized I did not want to be a mediocre orthodontist, but I wanted to save lives, like mine had been. I wanted to pursue nursing, and I hope to later become a trauma nurse; or specialize in pediatrics or nutrition. As a “glass half full” person, I choose to see the benefits of being diagnosed with anorexia, and one major benefit is knowing that I want to save other people’s lives by going to college and major in nursing! While typing this now, I am proud to say that I am on the road to full recovery and proud of how I have changed my life for the better. Although I struggled for over a year (and will always have this struggle), I am thankful for what this challenging journey has brought me. I am a person who some would describe as a “glass half full” person; therefore, I do not just see the negatives that anorexia has put me through. Not to say I’m thankful for nearly dying, but I am thankful it did bring me true friends, a new perspective on people and this crazy world, closer connections to my family, and a better idea of what I want to do with my future. This year, I signed up for HOSA, the medical professions class, again and have genuinely loved every second of it. I am so thankful to not only have peace of mind knowing what I want to do with my future, but to be right here today, able to tell my story. Anorexia is a tough illness; it can creep up when you least expect it, sound like it’s in your head, and may always haunt its prey, but I will not let it define me! To conclude, being diagnosed with anorexia nervosa took a major toll on my education, mental health, and relationships, but it also led me to a new perspective on life and a new purpose, which has led me to pursue a career in nursing.

December 2, 2020, I was diagnosed with a severe case of Anorexia Nervosa. Anorexia is what the doctors would say I was struggling with, but to me it was more than just a word. In my own words, I was suffering from the irrational, and deathly, fear of calories and food in general. Now to backtrack a little, I developed my eating disorder during the first Coronavirus outbreak. I began working out a lot, cutting out my favorite foods, and later became deathly terrified of anything with calories. Once my parents, Ashlee and Jimmy Gillespie, noticed how I had lost weight and got nervous around food, they decided to find a treatment plan for me. This is when they took me to the Children’s Hospital at UAB, where I would see an in-patient eating disorder specialist. Dr. Rebekah Savage, the doctor who saved my life and will forever have an impact on me, weighed me, checked my vitals and blood, and talked to me and my parents. She stated that I was the lowest-weight patient she had ever seen in her clinic and highly recommended sending me to an inpatient treatment facility. To make this doctor visit even worse, we were told I had developed osteopenia, which is the stage before osteoporosis (the degradation of the bones). After hearing all this, me and my family both decided I could battle this life-threatening illness with my strength and willpower, my family’s help, and God’s power. During the worst and most terrifying time of my life, school became a serious struggle. In the school year of 2020, my mental health was deteriorating. My closest friends noticed, and even ones who were not close began to ask me if I was okay. The truth is, I was not. I was lying to everyone around me by putting on a fake smile, laughing, and by brushing off their comments. Scientifically speaking, school was hard due to my restriction, causing a lack of focus, fatigue, and loss of interest. Emotionally, I had lost touch with my own feelings, causing me to distance myself from my friends. Physically, I looked emotionally drained every day (because I was), uncomfortable in chairs due to being so bony, and was overall too tired to be my true self. Mentally, I had been pushing others away and fighting alone during the beginning of school, and in December, I began to get the help everyone, but myself, knew I needed. School became a serious struggle not only because I could not focus on schoolwork and socialize with my peers, but also because I had to start going to the doctor as often as a day each week to make sure I was gaining the necessary weight, following my meal plan, not digressing, and so much more. I had to travel to Birmingham every week for a check-up, see a therapist each week, and go to the doctor in Tuscaloosa. I missed school more this year than I ever had if I were to add how many days I missed from each year before. And that says a lot. Overall, this school year was super rough on me. My grades were not my best, I was consumed with thoughts of food all the time, I was tired due to insomnia and fatigue, and I had lost the need to have friends by my side. In conclusion, battling anorexia during school took a significant toll on my mental health, grades, and life in general. Furthermore, while battling anorexia, I realized I no longer knew what I wanted to do with my life. During the 2020-2021 school year, I took a HOSA class which teaches about professions in the medical field, which I had become interested in. Not only had this class changed my mind about my future, but visiting the UAB Children’s Hospital, meeting with several helpful doctors, and experiencing a life-threatening illness impacted my decision on what to do with my life. After basically facing death, I realized I did not want to be a mediocre orthodontist, but I wanted to save lives, like mine had been. I wanted to pursue nursing, and I hope to later become a trauma nurse; or specialize in pediatrics or nutrition. As a “glass half full” person, I choose to see the benefits of being diagnosed with anorexia, and one major benefit is knowing that I want to save other people’s lives by going to college and major in nursing! While typing this now, I am proud to say that I am on the road to full recovery and proud of how I have changed my life for the better. Although I struggled for over a year (and will always have this struggle), I am thankful for what this challenging journey has brought me. I am a person who some would describe as a “glass half full” person; therefore, I do not just see the negatives that anorexia has put me through. Not to say I’m thankful for nearly dying, but I am thankful it did bring me true friends, a new perspective on people and this crazy world, closer connections to my family, and a better idea of what I want to do with my future. This year, I signed up for HOSA, the medical professions class, again and have genuinely loved every second of it. I am so thankful to not only have peace of mind knowing what I want to do with my future, but to be right here today, able to tell my story. Anorexia is a tough illness; it can creep up when you least expect it, sound like it’s in your head, and may always haunt its prey, but I will not let it define me! To conclude, being diagnosed with anorexia nervosa took a major toll on my education, mental health, and relationships, but it also led me to a new perspective on life and a new purpose, which has led me to pursue a career in nursing.