After reading the essay “Fifty Days with Alice” by “Kelly,” I felt more informed about the author’s physical and mental struggles with body image. In health class we are learning about body health issues, and anorexia was one of the main topics. Kelly is a girl just like us with anorexia, and her essay shows us her perspective and feelings toward not only the disease but also what it was like getting help and overcoming it. She writes, “I have hope that one day things will get better and that I will one day be okay.”

So many girls can relate to Kelly not just because of the disease, but because we all feel pressure about our bodies in today’s society. It’s all about looks – having the skinniest waist or the prettiest face. Kelly told us about meeting girls in the ward with anorexia and other eating disorders. She said they were some of the sweetest girls in the world. She also told us about the good staff there. Clearly it wasn’t just the treatments that helped Kelly, but the people who understood what she was going through and who supported her.