Getting Started

I've wanted to start a blog for awhile now, but given that life is crazy (and that I am indecisive and it took me approximately 10 years to decide what I would even name a blog) I haven't gotten around to it until now.


A little about me - my name is Rachel. I'm 22 years old and I live right outside of Washington D.C. (Northern Virginia) I currently live with my family and work full-time as a wellness consultant at a massage clinic. I've had to take the last year off from school, but I've been studying Psychology and am hoping to start taking some classes again this fall. I love writing - and have kept a personal blog about my life and recovery journey over the last few years. I've found that I can put my experience into writing much easier than I can actually speak it, and keeping the blog has not only really helped me to gain insight into myself and my struggle, but I think it's allowed my friends and family to understand and support me in a way that they wouldn't have been able to otherwise. Overall, it's just been incredibly helpful to me.

This blog, however, is not as much for me as it is for my readers. My desire to start 'Project REAL' has stemmed from my frustration with all of the inaccurate and misleading information about (but not really about) eating disorders that I've seen posted by different eating disorder organizations and treatment centers. I want to use this blog as a means of raising true awareness of what the reality of an eating disorder is and what the process of recovery looks like, given that I haven't found that elsewhere. I'm going to be picking apart a lot of the misleading articles that I've come across (and will no doubt continue to come across) and use what I have learned from my experience and from the experiences of those who have struggled alongside me to share what I know to be true. (hence the name - Project REAL)

Side note: The title of this blog is really not meant to sound as passive-aggressive as it does. I do respect the work that Project HEAL does in raising scholarships funding treatment for people who aren 't able to afford it otherwise, and I have no doubt that everyone involved in the organization has the best intentions at heart. However, after briefly volunteering with the Northern Virginia chapter, I was incredibly frustrated with most of what was being posted, and after getting some flack for writing about my disagreement with one of their articles, I decided that it was time for me to start my own blog so that I could have a space to share what I know to be real without having to worry about my views not aligning with those of a larger group or organization.

Anyways, I am very excited about getting started and look forward to seeing what the future holds for me and my blog. I hope you are as well. I want to give a big thank you to everyone who has supported and encouraged me in getting started - especially Danielle, Kelly and my amazing mother. You guys are the best!