A personal blog for HCSC, written by Olivia Casey:
Relationships are what shape us into who we are today. The bonds we form between each other play a vital role in development; and those whom you chose to connect yourself with can change your course of life completely. Friendship is something that is unexplainable, the fact that a stranger can be such a vital role in the support and love you feel in your life is incredible. And when it comes to who I am, my friends saved my life.
Sitting there amongst those I loved, I knew it was all over.
Throughout my early years of high school, I suffered from eating problems. I used my eating disorder to cope with moving to a new school, and the loneliness I felt. I thought that being skinny would fix my problems, that I would be more popular, that my parents wouldn’t resent me as much, boys would like me, and that my overall life would become better. My life began to consist of standing in front of the refrigerator, contemplating what was worth eating, crying alone in my room, for feeling that no one would ever understand what I was going through, and constantly looking in the mirror. The mental pain would steal chunks of time, and only let remember the constant thoughts of “skinny is the only way,” or “exercise more.” I thought my problems would never end, that the hurt would never stop, but then everything changed.
The beginning of junior year began to shine light on the darkness that I had endured. I had finally found a support system: a group of friends. As time went on, and the closer we became, the old me began to shrivel away, leaving the bad in the past. My friends saved my life. They filled the hole permanently when in the past; I thought that what my eating disorder had done. I finally started to feel that my worth wasn’t based on my weight or my looks, that I was wanted for more; for my personality, laughs, and what I brought to the table.
You are who you surround yourself with, and how you let them shape your life. I wouldn’t be who I am today without the bonds of friendship I formed throughout High School. They were the ones who showed my that there is more to your identity than the way people physically look at you, and because of this, I was able to grow into the strong person I am today. We all need a little help, a little push to get us on the right path, and without my friends providing that unconditional love, I would have never had the confidence I am so grateful for today.