The Elisa Project

Yesterday for Pacesetters, our director had a speaker come and give us a presentation.  The speaker was from a non profit organization, known as The Elisa Project.  The presentation is about eating healthy, dieting, eating disorders and helping out someone you know if they have a disorder.  It was started by a Elisa's father.  Elisa was a girl who for most of her life struggled with an eating disorder, and when she was in college, eventually took her life because she just couldn't handle the fight anymore.  I have seen the presentation once before, and it was different each time I saw it.  It really explains that dieting doesn't work, you can't just diet for a few months, lose a few pounds and then stop.  Our bodies don't work like that, we have to eat frequently during the day to maintain a stable metabolism and eat proportionally.  Once Elisa took her life, her family found journals and diaries written about how Elisa wished there were more resources and places for people to go if they have an eating disorder.  That is when her dad created the Elisa Project.  The organization now goes around to different places, schools, and groups educating people about the seriousness of eating healthy.  The speaker was really motivating, personally I don't know anyone with an eating disorder thankfully, but there are people all over the world who do, and now I have more information and can help make a change.  The media today makes people seem like they have to be so extremely thin, when in reality if you eat healthy and exercise regularly, if you maintain a stable weight, than that is your normal, healthy weight! People always talk about how Barbie is the "ideal body type" but if Barbie was a real women, she wouldn't be able to stand up, her waist couldn't support her chest.  Every person is beautiful in his or her own way, and our media needs to turn away from the fact that every person needs to have a "model figure."  Now, I think I might want to even start writing about more things like this, ways for people to find help on difficult topics.  My dream job for a while now has been to be a fashion journalist, but maybe that has changed.  Maybe now I want to help make a difference while still writing.