Yeah — it’s not exactly an obsession but even NOW I still really love those movies. It’s so sad.

That last bit about still loving the movies really made me smile

Number 1: Check. In first grade I started complaining about being fat. And I wasn’t even the teensiest bit overweight. We’ve also noticed my nephew (currently age 7) commenting about how fat he is (started at age 4.5). Very scary indeed.

Number 3: Check. In middle school, my friends who were thinner than I was (because I had already started binging and gained a considerable amount of weight) were on rice diets or cracker diets. Again, at a certain point you can’t choose your child’s friends. But you can know them and know what’s going on in everyone’s life so that it doesn’t get tangled up in your own kid’s head. And this prolly has more to do with building your own child’s self esteem, but it’s never fun to be the BIGGEST person in the group, especially amongst dieters. It’s not a red flag by any means — but a conversation about the beauty of differeny body types needs to be made. The sooner the better!

Four: Check. My French teacher in high school once asked if I had ever been diagnosed with bipolar. It was EMBARASSING as hell — but completely understandable. It was my junior year of high school, I was taking SIX AP classes, involved in three major productions at school, played softball, and took molecular biology after school in order to do a coveted summer internship. I’ve never been diagnosed with bipolar, but think about that schedule and being sixteen years old. It’s a WONDER I made it out alive. Interesting though, how my PARENTS not once ever questioned whether it was all too much. I was very clearly depressed.

Number 6: Check. Jackets in summer? And I live in the South. Need I say more. I was so covered up during 100 degree weather that my father actually thought I was hiding a pregnancy. Nope. Just my body.

Number 7: I didn’t talk about them OR write papers (that’s a first, Angelique) but I love love loved all the lifetime movies about teenage girls with eating disorders. Dying to be Thin, Center Stage, Friends til the End, Perfect Body, For the Love of Nancy, Augusta Gone, The Best Little Girl in the World.

Yeah — it’s not exactly an obsession but even NOW I still really love those movies. It’s so sad.