My name is Maria and I am here to talk. I will be talking a lot, so be prepared. I will also be listening a lot, so I am preparing myself as well. I am hoping to make some improvements in people’s lives, because there is something going on right this second that is threatening the lives of too many beautiful people, and it is only a few clicks away. Here…let me show you:
Well? What do you think of that?
Let me tell you a little about why I am here. Our human species is a very social one. We use various social connections as a barometer to define what is good and what is evil, what is acceptable and what is disgraceful. In today’s day and age, the Internet is the arguably the most powerful tool for social communication. It can be used for both good and evil. It can communicate messages to millions within seconds, but these messages are not always positive.
Websites such as pro-ana (pro-anorexia) and pro-mia (pro-bulimia) originated as safe-havens for those with eating disorders to freely discuss their everyday battles with the disease and to support one another along the tough road to recovery. Somewhere down the line, however, the websites took a twisted turn for the worst as more and more individuals with eating disorders began using the sites not for recovery, but for inspiration and support in enabling the disease. Furthermore, the sites are being used by those who emulate the thin and emaciated. Take a look at this video for an explanation from the viewpoint of an anorexic:
My best childhood friend has struggled with anorexia for over a year and a half, and these websites are a reflection of the way her ailing mind is working. I watched my best friend shrink away as she lied to her family and friends about what she ate and when she exercised. She cannot get better because she does not want to.
It makes me so sad to see these websites being used to enable this murderous disease, it is enabling sources such as these that have left my friend dead while she is still living. It is because of social support groups, such as these websites, that make the disease deemed acceptable to these individuals. These websites numb those involved to the pleas of their family, friends and bodies to try to get healthy. These websites say it is okay. My mission is to eradicate these lethal websites. In the words of my professor, this is “a fool’s mission”. These websites have hundreds of viewers and contributors who consider it a Bible; to go against these sites using the medium of communication they so heavily rely on is a dangerous task. Those who use them are living in a distorted world, where the website is still considered a “safe haven” and a “road to recovery”.
My attempt to destroy these sites will be viewed as insensitive and ignorant to these individuals, yet I will no longer stand by as they support each other in assisted suicide. I will end this post with a quote from one of these poisonous websites. Ladies and gentlemen, a line from the “Ana Creed”...
“I believe that I am the most vile, worthless and useless person ever to have existed on this planet, and that I am totally unworthy of anyone's time and attention.”
I counter this statement with a creed of my own; it is one I am writing with my friend in mine, but that I am applying to everyone using these websites with all of my heart. Here is my creed, a creed for existence.
I believe in you.
I believe you are strong enough to overtake this sickness.
I believe the control you once sought is gone.
I believe this disease is controlling you,
no matter how much these websites make you feel in control.
I believe you are beautiful, inside and out.
I believe your mind, your body, and your spirit
are crying for you to see what they have to offer you.
I believe that you are all worthy of my love,
for it is unconditional and exists for anyone in need of it.
I believe you are better than this.
I believe in you.
I believe in a world that is not black and white, but painted
with a myriad of colors and a myriad of shapes and images.
I believe you do not deserve what you are putting yourself through.
