Day 9: Who do you look up to? Why?

In my life, there are a number of people who have helped me enormously in my journey to recovery: some, who I have known since i was very young; others, maybe only for the past year or so, maybe even less than that. Yet every single one of them never cease to inspire and motivate me every single day. On my down and bad days, it is they who I turn to, who help me to pick myself up when I have fallen, and tentatively step forward once again. I know thatwithout their love, care, help, and support, I would never have gotten to where I am today in terms of my recovery. They have been there for me every step of the way, and I want to take this opportunity to thank them, all of them, with all my heart. Because without them, I know that climbing out of that merciless, cold, depthless sea of my anorexia would have been impossible, let alone beginning to climb that mountain towards recovery...

One of the people I look up to the most is my sister. Liz has been my rock ever since I was diagnosed with an eating disorder back in October. She helped me to pick up the pieces of my world when it seemed like my whole world had fallen apart. While I was in hospital she visited me as often as she could, despite the fact that it was difficult for her as she had to travel all the way from Monaghan to Dublin to see me.

I look up to my sister because I can see, when I look at her, a young woman who is beautiful, both on the inside and on the outside. She is happy, kind, understanding and supportive. She is friendly and socialbale, brave and strong. She listens to her body and eats what she likes, when she feels like it. She sees food as something to be enjoyed and shared and appreciated, rather than something to be measured and controlled and feared.

I will never be able to thank Lizzy for what she has done for me. She has been there for me since day 1...and I know that she always will be. Time may pass, leaves may fall...and everything I ever knew might change, might vanish forever. But I know that the love between my sister and I, that special sisterly bond that we have shared since we were children, will never be altered or diminished in any way; and will remain as palpable and as strong as the wings of a soaring eagle, or as the waves that crash against the golden shores of the beautiful island where I first tasted what true happiness feels like... <3 xxx