The short story "Wasting Myself" by Kelly emanates such a positive and useful message that plucked my heartstrings and brought tears to my eyes. This heart-wrenching tale centers around a narrator who abruptly falls into a pattern of starving herself, binging on all the food she can find, and forcing herself to empty the contents of her stomach into a toilet bowl. It took four years for her to overcome this addiction and climb out of the black abyss that is self mutilation. "I resolved to stop eroding myself," she says. Four entire years of the narrator's life were spent trying to meet the world's expectations and demands. Four years that she wasted trying to reach a goal that was impossible to reach.

          Society tells us that females must be slim, but curvy. Tall, but not heavy. Athletic, but not muscular. To even attempt to fit in to these ridiculous standards is preposterous! Why waste time on your physical appearance when you could focus on becoming a healthy, kind, and giving individual? Beauty in itself is very subjective, but there is no doubt that women who put their health first and are compassionate toward others are gorgeous. Kelly came to this realization after a long period of time in which she tortured her body. If we could all just accept that society makes ludicrous requests and that the inside is what counts, so many of this generation's issues would disappear. Thank you, Kelly, for sharing your story and reminding everyone that "beauty resides in self-love."