Someone once confided in me that they are ashamed of the fact that they struggle with an eating disorder.
“What if one of my friends finds out?” She asked. What if my school finds out?” She then threw her hands up in despair and cried, “I’m messed up!”
I looked at her in the eye for a moment, gathering the most comforting words I could muster in my mind, and then I spoke in a serious tone of voice: “Look at yourself. Look how far you have come! Look at all those locked doors that you found the keys to open. Look at the person you became because of your struggles. When I look at you, I don’t see a messed up girl. I see a real person with real struggles. A person who can stand up and have the courage to do what is right. An empathetic and caring person, always there to give a helping hand. What other people say doesn’t matter. You know how great you are, and nothing anyone will say will change that. Everyone has rocks along their path. This is yours.”