Submission: consentforselflove.tumblr.com

thank you!!

NEDAW is a little over 2 months away and at UVM we’re getting started on our on-campus awareness! If you’re interested, feel free to send us anything about body image, eating disorders, or anything else you feel fits under the prompt “tell us what it’s like to be in your body.

Thanks for all those who have already submitted, your work is amazing and your willingness to share is so honorable.

—Becca, Megan, and the rest of the NEDAW team at UVM!

There is a girl I know

(who, let’s face it, is not quite a princess)

She lives in a tall tall tower

(in the basement, with the rats and the spiders and the creepy crawlies)

She has the clearest skin

(all the better to see the cuts and bruises)

And her figure is striking

(made up of angles and sharp jagged edges, but she can’t stop once it’s got hold)

Prince Charming comes to visit, every day

(and it doesn’t matter if he shouts, if he’s angry, if she cries and she’s guilty, because she deserves it)

And she laughs like a dream

(when it happens)

But her greatest strength

(if she has one)

Is ignoring the whispers

(good luck with that)

And accepting herself

(it would be easier to do that if there were less OF her)

Just as she is

(rather her than me)

So on dark nights, she climbs the tower

(she knows more exercise would be good for her)

Until she reaches fresh air

(although she really should be back in the basement where she belongs)

And scream at the world.

And

(all)

the

(voices)

fall

(silent).

In their absence, she listens to the songs of the stars.

(Be brave.)

(Be beautiful.)

(Be you.)

This is what recovery feels like for me. I hope this is helpful!

submitted by: itsjustalittletouchoffate.tumblr.com

We are calling on bloggers across the country with an interest in National Eating Disorders Awareness Week. Active Minds at UVM will be honoring NEDAW with their 2nd anual art gallery

Our hope is to promote self-love, self-acceptance, and self-discovery. We are looking for all art - drawings, paintings, poetry, prose, photography, or anything you create -that may reflect struggles or triumphs, questions or concerns regarding body image

Feel free to submit anything, anonymous or not, to be displayed in the Student Center of the University of Vermont during the week of February 26, 2012

(email submissions to nedawuvm@gmail.com if its any easier)

xo Megan & Becca

submitted by throughtheunderground

I thought long and hard about how to answer this question. I have dyslexia so I struggle with writing: