Lauren was born in 1994. She was adopted as a newborn by her loving parents, Camille, and Michael. Her birth mother was 20 years old, addicted to drugs, and suffering from mental illness. Promiscuous, young, single, and unstable, Jennifer decided to give Lauren up for adoption. Lauren’s parents told her she was adopted at an early age. Although she knew it was an open adoption, she could not understand; she just knew she was different from the other kids. Lauren went to primary school in her neighborhood and grew up with an older sister who was also adopted. Lauren’s parents were lower-middle-class; her mother was a secretary with no education and her father was a bus driver, umpire, and veteran. Around the age of 7, Lauren began to notice her body. She was bigger than the other kids in school and started to think something was wrong with her. Students discovered Lauren was adopted and started to make fun of her. Lauren felt ostracized and unwanted, unsure of what was the matter. As she progressed to secondary school, Lauren’s parents would say she was “big-boned.” Lauren started to get bullied in the 7th grade and quickly learned to fit in, you had to be popular, but she was the furthest thing from “cool”. Lauren took this to mean she was ugly and not good enough. She had a few friends she hung out with and tried to adapt to her new environment. She caved into peer pressure, doing things out of character to “fit in.” When Lauren liked a boy in the 7th grade, he found out and asked her out as a dare in front of all his friends on AIM. The next day, Lauren realized this was a prank and was called derogatory names in the halls. Despite this, Lauren did well in her studies and enjoyed participating in sports after school. Lauren’s favorite activity (besides playing imagination) was writing in her diary because that was a place where she felt understood. As the years went by, people continued to point out Lauren’s weight which ingrained in her head she needed to change to be accepted. When Lauren was 13, her father’s health started to decline. Mike went into the army at 21 years old. When he got a vaccine to prevent hepatitis C, the shot ended up giving him the disease. Growing up, Laurens's dad was in and out of the hospital. Her parents were always at doctors' appointments and Lauren’s father had to follow a strict diet as he was also diabetic. Lauren felt jealous of her peers as she was not allowed to have any “bad” food in the house. She observed her family never went out to eat or on vacation like the other kids. When Lauren became a teenager, she started to hide food so she wouldn’t get in trouble. She would sneak food into her room and eat large amounts in secret. Food quickly became Lauren’s vice. This increased whenever her parents weren’t home, as a distraction and numbing agent. As Lauren’s parents became less available, physically, and emotionally, Laurens's compulsive behavior around food increased. On her 13th birthday, Lauren’s father was sent into emergency surgery and received a liver transplant. By age 14, Lauren was diagnosed with an eating disorder by the school psychologist. In hopes to redeem herself from being an “outsider,” Lauren decided to try out for the cheer team. Lauren was so happy when she was selected. Her best friend also made the cut but after middle school, moved away. Lauren’s high school experience was not so kind. She got into her first relationship at 14 which thankfully ended after 7 months of verbal abuse. At 15, she began experimenting with self-induced vomiting and saw it as her chance to be thin. Lauren would go on to have an eating disorder for the next 10 years. May of sophomore year, Lauren's father became extremely ill once again after his new liver developed cancer. He was put in-home hospice care where he eventually died 2 weeks later. Lauren began to self-harm as a way to release her pent-up emotions and anger. Lauren noticed at her father's funeral; her sister had many friends attend while she had none. Dina was a year older, popular, and skinny. Lauren tried to become a part of her friend circle but was not only rejected, her sisters’ friends began to bully her. It wasn’t until 12th grade that Lauren started to make some friends. Despite her struggles, Lauren was an excellent student. Her favorite subject was creative writing. After her English teacher saw her journal entries, she was referred to a school social worker. Lauren frequented the youth and family service center during lunch period. On days her counselor wasn't available, Lauren ate in the bathroom as kids threw cans at her in the cafeteria. Lauren started to see a nurse practitioner and attend group therapy, where she was diagnosed with social anxiety and depression. Thankful for high school to end, Lauren attended community college. Lauren’s best friend went away to school which ended their 10-year-long friendship. Lauren was assaulted her first semester of college. At this point, she was attending a hospital program for eating disorders. Despite her struggles, she wanted to get her bachelor's degree in psychology. In 2015, Lauren went on a blind date with a man who would later become her boyfriend of 2 years. This relationship went on to be mentally, physically, and sexually abusive. Because of the emotional distress, Lauren stopped going to work and failed school as she could not function cognitively. After a cancer scare and brutal attack in 2017, Lauren ended the relationship. Lauren went from being on 8 different psychiatric medications for her “mood disorder” and PTSD to being on one. Lauren went from being in therapy twice per week to now twice per month. After she stabilized, she decided to go back to school, graduating with her bachelor’s degree and then her master’s. Lauren is now in remission, attending school to obtain her doctorate. She wishes to become a psychologist working with individuals impacted by interpersonal trauma (sexual and domestic violence). It is her goal to work with victims and perpetrators of sexual abuse and intimate partner violence. Her dream is to run batterers’ intervention groups, teach as a college professor, and work for the FBI. Lauren is now a registered yoga instructor and published author. She identifies as being “in recovery” and has not had any eating disorder behaviors in four years. Her sister and her are now close friends.