inspirational?

Friday 4th March 2011
2:01pm

Its been really weird the past few days, lots of young people have told me I was inspirational and brave for doing the assembly and starting to come of the hell of my anorexia.

After the assembly on Wednesday a couple of year 11 students approached me to see if I could offer some advice on their final piece from drama, the position I was in about 3/4 years ago (sadly, I didn't get to do my drama piece but still did well in the subject for GCSE) the group which they were working with had decided to do theirs aroud anorexia. I actually felt privilaged that they wanted me to give them some ideas and talk about what had happened to be for scenes.

I could tell that they were shocked with what I had to say, but I found it important to tell them about some of the more amusing times too - such as the lady deciding clothes were not her friend anymore, the image still vivid in my head!



The pupils were basing their performace around the play "Hard to Swallow" which is A play based on Maureen Dunbar’s award winning novel and film “Catherine” and charts her daughter’s uneven battle with anorexia and the family’s difficulties in coping with it all. Told mainly through the words of Catherine and her family, this uncompromising and sensitive script is equally as popular in schools as it is on the one act play circuit - Hard To Swallow has sold over 15,000 copies in the UK since its publication in 1990 and has become a very popular performance in schools. This dramatisation uses the words from Catherine’s diaries and also of those most closely involved and affected.

The group was so lovely, they seemed to want to listen which was the main importance to me, this was a very sensitive issues which they need to portray well and sensitevly.

So I'm still wondering if I really am inspirational? Does being on the road to recovery from anorexia inspitational? Okay my life has changed dramatically but I still see myself as this ordianry person, okay I have my little quirks but I'm thinking I was sent on this journey for a reason, I'm desperate to help people, okay at times I often ignore myself but I do eventually realise how important life is and I have to pick myself up and carry on.

Despite how horrid my anoreixa is, without it I wouldn't be who I am today. Professionals have said that anorexia is my life - it's not its actually in a weird way more confident and found me someone special who I can see myself being happy with for a long time.

Any person at any age can make a difference, I'm just glad some are finally starting to see this.

Rach
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