Don't call me fat. Don't call me skinny. Please, just call me Annie.

Eating Disorders are no fun... Not for anyone. And yet somehow they are strangely accepted by our culture. People who mean well, but just... aren't, like to tell those of us struggling that "There is no benefit to being skinny. No one likes you better. There's nothing enriching about wearing a size 2." Right? Wrong. There is a benefit to being skinny. All you have to do is watch television for ten minutes, and you are bombarded with advertisements, which scream, "I lost 20 pounds, and gained happiness!" They also project fallacies such as "I lost 10 pounds, and my life turned around! If you lose 10 pounds, you too will have a better life!" Granted, these statements come in more clandestine forms and are not ever said so blatantly, but the message is the same. Skinny= Happy.

For better or for worse, many people (men and women, young and old) take these messages to stomach, and set about seeking their "perfect weight." There is absolutely nothing wrong with a yen for health. However, in an era of fast food and instant downloads, we would rather take a pill, or go on a diet, and expect to see instant weight loss, over working steadily and gradually (and with the help of professionals) in order to obtain a key weight, optimal for the individual. Size 2, and attractive for department stores, equals more confidence than Size 12, and attractive for your body and health.

Although weight loss is ideal for some, often messages of a "perfect size" are projected to perfectly healthy individuals, who happen to have low self-confidence. Although there are many causes to disorders such anorexia and bulimia, I believe that projection of weight from media and peers often are the stem of disorders. As a young woman who has struggled with anorexia off and on since the sixth grade, I have really got to thinking about what caused me to start thinking I was fat, and how I could absolve these feelings.

When I was in the sixth grade, I was standing in line waiting to go to gym class, and two girls (friends!!) standing next to me were talking about something or other, when one turned my direction and said "unlike Annie, who is kind of... well, you know..." and she proceeded to puff out her cheeks, stick out her stomach, and do the best impression of a fat person she could muster. I was devastated. I didn't eat but one small meal a day for the next two weeks. This is the earliest time I can remember trying to control my weight.

A friend of mine was put in the hospital almost a month ago, for issues related to anorexia... Actually, her heart rate dropped to 39 BPM, and she nearly had a heart attack. Since then, she has been in school one day a week, has been banned from all sports, and everyone that knows her is on high alert, caring, but utterly paralyzed when it comes to actually helping her. This has really been eye opening for me. When I found out she was the hospital, all I could think was "Oh my god, that could be me someday."

Since her hospital stay, I've really gotten to thinking about why women face eating disorders. For better or worse, this week, I was called, verbatim, "Disgustingly Skinny" by four different people, all of whom I consider to be friends, and "Overweight," in jest by a girl in the locker room.

After all that, I just keep thinking how happy I am that I am not at a point in my life where my eating governs my self esteem, because otherwise I would have taken their comments to stomach, and be in much worse shape than I am right now.

We just don't realize that our words actually have an effect on the people we say them to. We don't realize that anything we say has the power to make a break a person. We just think that our words belong to us, and consistently fail to realize that we could be responsible for the self-esteem and health of others.

So, now I have a message for you. Whether or not you, too, suffer from an eating disorder, please take into consideration these guidelines.

1) Never call a person fat, even, and especially if you're joking.
2) Never call a person skinny. You don't know what the effect could be.
3) Compliment someone today. You have no idea how far something as simple as "your eyes look pretty with that shirt" can reach.
4) Treat others, as you would like to be treated.
5) Never say something to someone that you, yourself wouldn't want to hear.
6) Be careful when discussing other people's bodies. Even if they aren't around.
7) Always remember that everyone has feelings.

Although I am not proposing that these suggestions will eradicate eating disorders, I do know that this could really help someone struggling with one, who is close to you. Please, take this into consideration. The world won't be a better place unless you help make it one.

-Annie