Throwback Thursday - Celebrating the Past

I've read a number of before and after blog posts, and I usually read how miserable the person in the before pic was. The post basically lambasts the person in the before pic, while celebrating how far the person in the after pic has come. This is not what I want to do today. I want to celebrate the person in the before picture. I want to go back in time and hug her. I want to tell her how beautiful she is, how smart she is, and how generally awesome she is. I don't even want to bring health and fitness into the dialog because hobbies or your waistline do not define your value. I want to take a moment to celebrate the heart in the girl below. I want to celebrate her dedication and perseverance to overcome mental stumbling blocks. Health and fitness was the strategy that helped her overcome her mental fog; however, it was only a tool. She could have easily chosen volunteering or something else to ignite her passion for something... for anything. What matters is that she took the initiative to change a bad situation for the better, and for that--

  Hear! Hear! for the girl in the before picture

11/28/2011- about 3 years ago