Don't Judge a Book by its Cover
I have a friend. Okay, I have a few, but this post is about one in particular. I know her from college; we were Orientation Leaders for the frosh together and also in the same sorority. I'll call her Liz.She was beautiful then. She still is now, but it's a different kind of beauty, because I know her better now and know what goes on inside. She was one of the popular girls, and with reason. She was vibrant, outgoing, charming - charismatic. She was talented - god, she could sing like you wouldn't believe. She was dyslexic, but aware of it and dealt with it. She was the one girl everyone knew, and everyone liked, and everyone wanted to be friends with and to be liked by.
She graduated college and went on to intern at the White House for a few years. After that, she ran the governor's fundraising campaign in the state she moved to. Get it? This girl was something.
She's engaged now, to a great guy. She's still beautiful, but she's far too skinny now. She's had some rough dealings the past few years - she had recent emergency surgery to remove an abcess, after which she promptly ruptured her stitches. She had a nervous breakdown this year; she's been seeing a shrink almost daily.
She - they - think she's bi-polar. They also think she has an eating disorder, or at least a control issue. She has depression. She has insomnia. She is at least 20 pounds underweight. She's planning a wedding. She's using her college degree and all her fantastic experience to babysit for $15 an hour, under the table. She's on anti-anxiety meds, sleep meds, anti-depression meds, meds for her stomach issues...And she has no insurance.
In college, she was the girl who had everything. Who was everything.
She's still fantastic now, but she's a bit broken in some ways that won't ever completely heal.
I love you, Liz.
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