HEALTHY LIVING IS SPIRITUAL LIVING

3 Teens tell about their spiritual healings

with contributions from Amy Aleshire, Christine “Tine” Neely, Nicolas Gentile de Peyon

Two summers ago I went on a back-packing trip with my dad in California. It was really awesome. We hiked for eight days from Mammoth Lakes to Yosemite. When I returned home from the trip, I found that I had lost a considerable amount of weight from all the exercise. I'm a small person, and I didn't weigh very much to begin with. But I was happy about the weight loss, because I thought it meant I was physically fit and could do better in sports. I also thought I looked better.

When I started 10^th grade a month later in September, everyone noticed the difference in how I looked. As the year went on, however, I became unhappy. I didn't think the school I was in was right for me. Although I did well academically, I didn't like hanging out with my friends. I thought they were superficial and full of gossip. I would often come home and cry to my mom about it.

This unhappiness really took a toll on my body. I began to eat very little and lose even more weight. I thought that being thin would make me happy, and then school would get better. But it wasn't the solution.

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