If I had to describe myself in 4 words I'd use the following: energetic, adventurous, sociable, and positive. I really enjoy traveling and have been to some amazing places: my favorites were Switzerland and Andros Island of the Bahamas. I'm engaged to a wonderful man named Ray and I have a great family. I absolutely love kitty cats.
I have a passion for running and triathlon (in case you couldn't tell, haha). This passion was actually sparked by my recovery from an eating disorder.
In middle school, I went through the usual preteen/early teen awkwardness: lots of changes physically and emotionally, lack of confidence in pretty much everything, and putting up with the other kids who were mostly jerks. In seventh grade, I started caving into pressure to be "beautiful." For me this involved being more careful about what I ate and getting a lot of exercise. Before long, I was on the path to a full blown eating disorder. One night at the beginning of eighth grade I had a nightmare that I was floating through the air and witnessing my own funeral. This was when I realized I needed help: the next morning I told my already concerned mom that I knew I need help. I started meeting with an interdisciplinary team: a doctor, psychologist, and nutritionist. Little did I know, I would have an extremely long, difficult road to recovery (about 5-6 years).
High school was a constant battle between the healthy happy me trying to break free and the awful monster anorexia trying to consume me. I was constantly seeking perfection.
For about a month during the summer after my freshman year, I was hospitalized. There, I learned a multitude of coping mechanisms and met some amazing people. Upon being released, I thought I finally had my life back. Unfortunately, I was wrong. Within about a year or so, I was again on the brink of death and found myself at the lowest of lows (both physically and emotionally). One night, I had a spiritual breakthrough (this is another story altogether): from that point forward, I made a general upward spiral. The battle was still far from over. The beginning of my freshman year of college (fall of 2006) I had one last relapse. This was the final straw: I needed to find a way out of the trap. I was not going to miss out on life in college the way I did in high school. Instead of wasting my life on scales, in doctor's offices, and skipping social gatherings to torment myself, I decided to figure out how I could embrace life and beat this thing once and for all.
After working hard to gain back some weight over my school's winter break (six weeks), I signed up for a half marathon training program through the fitness department at OU's rec center. My family was incredibly skeptical, but my mom saw a new determination in me and she was supportive. Through the training, I found a new way to life my life. For the first time in years I felt strong again. I ate a complete, healthy, balanced diet so that I could enjoy the freedom I felt when running. Exercise was now a reward, not a punishment. Food was now finally viewed much needed fuel as well as something to savor and enjoy. In April of 2007, I ran my first half marathon. From that point on, I was hooked on running. I went on to run my first full marathon in 2008 and did my first triathlon later on that year.
My body image is far from perfect, but I've been relapse-free for about 6 years. I take good care of my body and it rewards me by enabling me to do amazing things. Life is a gift and I've learned to embrace it.
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