I should know by now

Never tead the comments section of online articles. Especially ones about mental illness. 

Very Inspiring Blogger Award

Glenn 2.0 nominated me for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award! I feel incredibly honored and humbled.

The rule for this award are:

• Thank and link the amazing person who nominated you.
• List the rules and display the award.
• Share seven facts about yourself.
• Nominate 15 other amazing blogs and comment on their posts to let them know they have been nominated.
• Optional: Proudly display the award logo on your blog and follow the blogger who nominated you.

Seven facts about me:

1. I am one of seven kids. I loved growing up in a large family. There was always someone to talk to and always someone to do things with. I have three sisters and three brothers, three older siblings and three younger siblings. No matter what I wanted to do, there was someone to do it with. We grew up camping and playing outdoors, we had family game nights on Fridays and played lots of board and card games growing up. We would have movie nights with popcorn. I can’t actually think of anything right off hand that I didn’t like about having a large family.
2. I went to college for sign language interpreting. I didn’t finish the degree (I have one year left) because my eating disorder made me too sick to continue. However, at some point, I’d like to go back and finish it. I love signing and I love the deaf community. I also have a deaf niece (born after I started my degree).
3. When I feel stuck in life, I have a tendency to cut my hair (myself, in the bathroom, with scissors). It makes me feel like I can make a positive change in my life. As a result, I’ve had every length of hair, including once when I shaved my head, and I even had a mohawk once.
4. Rice, popcorn, and potatoes are my three favorite foods in the world. However, I rarely eat popcorn because it’s painful to purge.
5. I’ve been in and out of hospitals and treatment since I was 16. That’s 14 years. Sometimes it’s been helpful, sometimes it hasn’t, but it definitely makes me feel “different” a lot of the time, abnormal and strange, and at times it’s very exhausting.
6. Very few people in my life know what I’m going through right now, and no one knows the extent. I hate talking about it with people, it feels awkward and strained. I also don’t like people worrying about me, plus most people in my life don’t understand any of it. I also feel like I let people down by struggling so much, or feel like a failure, and that’s not a feeling I want to share with most people.
7. My days right now are really, really boring because I’m so wrapped up in my eating disorder. It makes it hard for me to come up with 7 facts about myself. My days basically consist of binge, purge, laxatives, exercise, and repeat until bed.

Bonus: I hate shingles commercials. “The shingles virus is already inside you.” Thanks. I hate you now.

My nominations:

1. http://crystalbunneh.wordpress.com/ – This girl has been through a lot, and she’s just coping the best that she knows how. I hope that she is able to find healing and wholeness
2. http://thefatballerinablogs.wordpress.com/
3. http://right2recovered.wordpress.com/
4. http://ambivalencegirl.wordpress.com/ – Numbers 2, 3, and 4 have helped me so much during the last few months that I’ve had this blog (Ballerina even longer). They encourage me, they support me, they leave wonderful notes on my blog, and they struggle day in and day out but keep fighting. I consider these 3 wonderful ladies my WordPress support group.
5. http://letmeseemykids.wordpress.com/ – This guy lost his children and wife due to drug addiction and is now working hard to turn his life around, and the lives of his three precious boys. He inspires me to keep going when it doesn’t seem worth it, or possible.
6. http://glenn2point0.wordpress.com/ – He always has a word of encouragement or advice for me, and is one of my most active commenters. Don’t ever underestimate the power of a kind word to someone who is struggling.
7. http://seethebrightsideoflife.wordpress.com/ – This girl writes every post in two languages! I sometimes just struggle to post in a single language! I also enjoy her insights and humor, and I love to learn about life in a country I don’t usually hear much about.
8. http://recoverybound27.wordpress.com/
9. http://darlingimbroken.wordpress.com/
10. http://cagednomore.org/
11. http://maniccottoncandy.wordpress.com/
12. http://twirlybunny.wordpress.com/ – Numbers 8-12 are all blogs I frequent. They inspire me because they all struggle, but they all keep going. Sometimes, just knowing there’s someone out there who is also struggling but has the strength to continue is a huge help for me.
13. http://tracybrighton.wordpress.com/
14. http://tomagcro.com/
15. http://edhusband.wordpress.com/ – Numbers 13-15 are not always updated very often, but they each offer the unique perspective of someone who is trying to support an individual with an eating disorder: a mother, a father, and a husband, respectively.

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