"Mom, can I do dance this year?"
"Are you sure? Sometimes the costumes are quite snug."
At the time, the blond girl was worried that her mother didn't want anybody to see her chubby young daughter. Now, as the performance had arrived she realized how well her mother knew her. The blond girl continued to pull and try to stretch the fabric, but it was useless. Every fat roll on her body was about to be displayed in front of hundreds of people.
As she walked out onto the floor she tried her best to hide the embarrassment. She could feel all the eyes in the audience on her and she just knew that everyone was disgusted with the fat blond girl in the tight costume. The music began and she started to do the dance moves the way she had been taught, but then she realized that if she moved then all of her extra weight would jiggle and everyone would see it. She kept pushing herself to perform the dance, but tried to make the movements smaller. She willed herself not to cry and silently prayed that it would be over soon.
The blond girl, who had wanted so badly to be able to perform and dance, went home that night and knew she would never be a dancer. She was just too fat and ugly. She climbed under the covers, buried her head in her pillow, and allowed her thoughts to tell their usual bedtime story of what an awful, horrible, ugly, fat, untalented little blond girl she was.
* * * * * * * * *
I neatly folded the blue polo shirt and stacked it on top of the red t-shirt with "Ogden LDS Institute" printed in white letters across the front. I looked at everything I had packed and double checked that I hadn't forgotten anything. The semester had finally come to an end. I somehow managed to survive my finals, though I don't know how I was able to pass any of them. It had been a challenging semester and I was ready to go on the choir tour that the Choralaires had been working toward for months. I had been looking forward to this tour, until about a week before we were to leave.
"You do realize that you're going to have to eat while you're on tour, right?" Chris wouldn't be going on tour because of work.
"I'll figure it out. I think I can find ways to get out of it." I said, frustrated that I was having this conversation again.
"ShaRee, you're going to be sight seeing all day long and performing every night. You need to eat. You're also going to be staying with families who are going to be serving you meals. You can't just turn down their kindness."
As I looked into his face I had a hard time reading his emotion. Was it concern? It couldn't be concern. I wasn't doing anything wrong. The therapist had said I didn't have an eating disorder. Why was he telling me this?
"I'll figure it out." I said, just wanting the uneasiness to be over.
That moment played in my head as I sat near the suitcase. I would be flying out in the morning to go to the Carolina's and I was already having anxiety over eating and food due to the girl's weekend I'd had with my mom and sisters in Orem. My mom had begun to be suspicious of what was really going on with me, yet I still felt an overwhelming need to continue to hide it from her and the rest of the family. My mom, my older sister, my younger sister Heather, and I had so much fun together, but the thought of the chicken chimichanga I had eaten made me sick. I pulled my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms tightly around them and began to rock back and forth as I remembered the yellow cake with white frosting. A year previous it had been the cake served at my older sister's wedding reception. We had taken the frozen top layer out over our girls weekend, and I ate a slice. Why had I eaten a slice?! I rocked back and forth, trying desperately not to have a break down.
"The bathroom is free if you want to go get ready for bed." Jamie said, snapping me out of my thoughts.
A few months earlier, as we were preparing for tour, we were informed that we would have to pick a partner to share a suitcase with, which meant that we would also be staying at the homes of the host families together. They would essentially be our roommates for tour. I had no idea who I was supposed to ask. I had spent most of the semester hiding behind Chris. I looked around the choir room and realized that I hadn't spent a lot of time talking with any of the people in the room, convinced that none of them would want to be friends with me and paranoid that they were all disgusted with my size. How was I supposed to approach any of them?
"ShaRee? Have you found a suitcase partner yet?"
I turned around to see Jamie Nielsen. She was a few inches shorter than me and had the most beautiful, long, thick black hair that I'd ever seen. She was also a music major and we'd been in a few classes together, but had never really talked.
"No. Have you?"
"No, would you wanna be my suitcase partner? I even have a suitcase we can use."
"Yeah! That would be great!"
Since that day we had been spending more time getting to know each other before tour and had started becoming good friends. For her music technology class, she was required to write and record a song and asked me to sing the duet with her on the recording. She even altered my dress for me when it became apparent that the skirt was no longer going to stay up on my ever shrinking body. I found that I enjoyed having a friend in my life that wasn't wrapped up in my eating habits and questioning me about it all the time. It was refreshing.
Now, the night before tour, here I was sitting on her bedroom floor trying to hide the battle being waged in my head.
"Ok, thanks Jamie."
I grabbed what I needed and headed to the bathroom. Shutting the door behind me, I took a second to take a deep breath before walking to the mirror. I stared at myself, taking my time to inspect every inch of my body, taking note of any changes that had happened. My stomach looked bigger, and with each moment I looked at it I began to let the fear take over.
I had just gone down another pant size and was excited when I went to the store to buy a couple of new pair of pants. Jamie and I had joked about my "saggy bum pants" that were currently hanging off of me. What if I couldn't fit into the smaller size because I had eaten that piece of cake?! Knowing I had to get up early, I gave up trying to will my stomach to be smaller and walked back into Jamie's room.
We talked about the schedule for the following day and then went to bed. I lay on my makeshift bed on Jamie's floor and silently prayed that I would be able to fit into my pants. I pleaded for my Father in Heaven to help me lose weight and promised Him that I would never eat like that again. When I finished my prayer I stared at the ceiling, unable to fall asleep. A pattern I was now extremely familiar with. I continued to listen to my thoughts tell me how ugly I was, when a new worry set in. The scratchiness in my throat from the day before was beginning to turn into an aching lump. I closed my eyes tight and whispered over and over again, "Please don't let me get sick. Please don't let me get sick." I was convinced this was happening because I had eaten food. I hadn't been sick all semester until now, a day after I had eaten food. It couldn't be a coincidence.
"You do realize that you're going to have to eat while you're on tour, right?" Chris wouldn't be going on tour because of work.
"I'll figure it out. I think I can find ways to get out of it." I said, frustrated that I was having this conversation again.
"ShaRee, you're going to be sight seeing all day long and performing every night. You need to eat. You're also going to be staying with families who are going to be serving you meals. You can't just turn down their kindness."
As I looked into his face I had a hard time reading his emotion. Was it concern? It couldn't be concern. I wasn't doing anything wrong. The therapist had said I didn't have an eating disorder. Why was he telling me this?
"I'll figure it out." I said, just wanting the uneasiness to be over.
That moment played in my head as I sat near the suitcase. I would be flying out in the morning to go to the Carolina's and I was already having anxiety over eating and food due to the girl's weekend I'd had with my mom and sisters in Orem. My mom had begun to be suspicious of what was really going on with me, yet I still felt an overwhelming need to continue to hide it from her and the rest of the family. My mom, my older sister, my younger sister Heather, and I had so much fun together, but the thought of the chicken chimichanga I had eaten made me sick. I pulled my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms tightly around them and began to rock back and forth as I remembered the yellow cake with white frosting. A year previous it had been the cake served at my older sister's wedding reception. We had taken the frozen top layer out over our girls weekend, and I ate a slice. Why had I eaten a slice?! I rocked back and forth, trying desperately not to have a break down.
"The bathroom is free if you want to go get ready for bed." Jamie said, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"ShaRee? Have you found a suitcase partner yet?"
I turned around to see Jamie Nielsen. She was a few inches shorter than me and had the most beautiful, long, thick black hair that I'd ever seen. She was also a music major and we'd been in a few classes together, but had never really talked.
"No. Have you?"
"No, would you wanna be my suitcase partner? I even have a suitcase we can use."
"Yeah! That would be great!"
Since that day we had been spending more time getting to know each other before tour and had started becoming good friends. For her music technology class, she was required to write and record a song and asked me to sing the duet with her on the recording. She even altered my dress for me when it became apparent that the skirt was no longer going to stay up on my ever shrinking body. I found that I enjoyed having a friend in my life that wasn't wrapped up in my eating habits and questioning me about it all the time. It was refreshing.
Now, the night before tour, here I was sitting on her bedroom floor trying to hide the battle being waged in my head.
"Ok, thanks Jamie."
I grabbed what I needed and headed to the bathroom. Shutting the door behind me, I took a second to take a deep breath before walking to the mirror. I stared at myself, taking my time to inspect every inch of my body, taking note of any changes that had happened. My stomach looked bigger, and with each moment I looked at it I began to let the fear take over.
See, this is what happens when you eat food! Look at how big you got after two days of eating. You are never going to be able to fit into your pants for tour. Everyone is going to notice that you ate all that food. They'll think you are even more disgusting. Look what you did!
I had just gone down another pant size and was excited when I went to the store to buy a couple of new pair of pants. Jamie and I had joked about my "saggy bum pants" that were currently hanging off of me. What if I couldn't fit into the smaller size because I had eaten that piece of cake?! Knowing I had to get up early, I gave up trying to will my stomach to be smaller and walked back into Jamie's room.
We talked about the schedule for the following day and then went to bed. I lay on my makeshift bed on Jamie's floor and silently prayed that I would be able to fit into my pants. I pleaded for my Father in Heaven to help me lose weight and promised Him that I would never eat like that again. When I finished my prayer I stared at the ceiling, unable to fall asleep. A pattern I was now extremely familiar with. I continued to listen to my thoughts tell me how ugly I was, when a new worry set in. The scratchiness in my throat from the day before was beginning to turn into an aching lump. I closed my eyes tight and whispered over and over again, "Please don't let me get sick. Please don't let me get sick." I was convinced this was happening because I had eaten food. I hadn't been sick all semester until now, a day after I had eaten food. It couldn't be a coincidence.
* * * * * * * * *
I marveled at how green everything was in South Carolina. I had woken up with a sore throat and immediately started taking vitamin C. I knew there was nothing I could do, but I was hoping that even just a little bit would help it from worsening. Our flight had gone smoothly, and we were now on our bus heading toward the church building where we were to meet our first host family.
It felt good after a long day of flying to get off the bus and stretch my legs. There was a lot of confusion as everyone unloaded suitcases and tried to track down their host families. Jamie and I found the woman holding our number and introductions were quickly made. Her accent was so charming that I found myself just wanting to listen to every word she was saying. Jamie did an excellent job of keeping the conversation going and helping us all get acquainted and comfortable with each other. We turned into a beautiful gated community and pulled up to the most gorgeous red brick home with tall, ornate pillars framing the front door. It was a house like those I had only seen in the movies.
"My husband wanted to come home and get dinner started for you, that's why he couldn't come pick you up with me."
"So, what does your husband do for a living?" I asked as we pulled into the garage. I was curious what someone had to do to own such a lovely home, but I also just wanted to keep her talking to hear her accent.
"He is a lawyer. We also have a daughter. You might get to meet her tonight, but she kind of likes to keep to herself."
We grabbed all of our belongings from the SUV and walked into the kitchen. I immediately smelled the familiar scent of meat on a grill. The anxiety snapped me out of this dream I had apparently walked into. A second before I had been enjoying the green South Carolina landscape, charming accents, and the wonder of seeing such a grand home and now I was back into my cage of food, weight, and fear. How was I going to get out of this meal? How could I lose more weight? How much exercising could I do? My thoughts were spinning when I heard a door open and looked over to see a man wearing a suit and an apron walking toward us. We shook hands and introduced ourselves. He was a man whose stature wasn't quite as big as his personality. What his wife offered in gentility and sweetness he balanced out with humor and bluntness.
"What do all ya'all call that?" he asked, gesturing to where his grill was currently cooking the round slabs of ground beef.
Jamie and I looked at each other in slight confusion. Not completely sure what he was asking.
"What do you call a meal that consists of grilled hamburgers?" he seemed anxious for us to answer and had a slight smirk on his face.
"A barbecue?" Jamie answered, almost timidly, not quite sure why he was asking such a bizarre question.
"Wrong! That is not 'a barbecue', that is called cooking out. I'm grilling the food. It's a cook out. Ya'all don't know what real barbecue is, but it isn't what we're having tonight. So from now on, when you have parties where people bring food to cook on a grill, stop referring to it is a barbecue. You're having a cook out!"
Jamie and I started to laugh as we realized that we had just been lectured by a true southerner on something that we Utahns had clearly been getting wrong our whole lives. I wasn't sure what "real barbecue" was, but I had clearly never had it and he wanted to make sure that we fixed our mistake. We readily apologized for our offensive mistake and were shown to the room where we would be staying so that we could get settled before dinner.
"Jamie, this place is so nice!" we looked around the room and took the opportunity to relax and visit for a minute while we were alone.
"I know. And did you notice that they had full house stairs?"
"They have what?"
"You know! The stairs like on Full House. The kind that go up in one room and come down in another."
I started to laugh as it dawned on me what she was saying.
"Oh yeah, I did notice that. That is so funny that you call it that." I grabbed my bottle of vitamin C and popped another tablet in my mouth.
"Are you feeling any better?" She had been the one that suggested the vitamins when I told her I felt a cold coming on.
"Yeah, a little I guess. I don't feel any worse, so maybe this'll be as bad as it gets. Maybe after I get a good nights rest I'll feel better. It's just been a long day and I didn't get a ton of sleep last night."
"I hear ya. Hey, we better get down there for dinner."
My mind was racing for any way to get out of the meal without being rude, but Chris was right. I couldn't offend these people who were being so kind to me and we had been instructed to be extremely courteous to our host families. I started to rub my hands together nervously as I stood up from the bed and followed Jamie down for dinner.
It felt good after a long day of flying to get off the bus and stretch my legs. There was a lot of confusion as everyone unloaded suitcases and tried to track down their host families. Jamie and I found the woman holding our number and introductions were quickly made. Her accent was so charming that I found myself just wanting to listen to every word she was saying. Jamie did an excellent job of keeping the conversation going and helping us all get acquainted and comfortable with each other. We turned into a beautiful gated community and pulled up to the most gorgeous red brick home with tall, ornate pillars framing the front door. It was a house like those I had only seen in the movies.
"My husband wanted to come home and get dinner started for you, that's why he couldn't come pick you up with me."
"So, what does your husband do for a living?" I asked as we pulled into the garage. I was curious what someone had to do to own such a lovely home, but I also just wanted to keep her talking to hear her accent.
"He is a lawyer. We also have a daughter. You might get to meet her tonight, but she kind of likes to keep to herself."
We grabbed all of our belongings from the SUV and walked into the kitchen. I immediately smelled the familiar scent of meat on a grill. The anxiety snapped me out of this dream I had apparently walked into. A second before I had been enjoying the green South Carolina landscape, charming accents, and the wonder of seeing such a grand home and now I was back into my cage of food, weight, and fear. How was I going to get out of this meal? How could I lose more weight? How much exercising could I do? My thoughts were spinning when I heard a door open and looked over to see a man wearing a suit and an apron walking toward us. We shook hands and introduced ourselves. He was a man whose stature wasn't quite as big as his personality. What his wife offered in gentility and sweetness he balanced out with humor and bluntness.
"What do all ya'all call that?" he asked, gesturing to where his grill was currently cooking the round slabs of ground beef.
Jamie and I looked at each other in slight confusion. Not completely sure what he was asking.
"What do you call a meal that consists of grilled hamburgers?" he seemed anxious for us to answer and had a slight smirk on his face.
"A barbecue?" Jamie answered, almost timidly, not quite sure why he was asking such a bizarre question.
"Wrong! That is not 'a barbecue', that is called cooking out. I'm grilling the food. It's a cook out. Ya'all don't know what real barbecue is, but it isn't what we're having tonight. So from now on, when you have parties where people bring food to cook on a grill, stop referring to it is a barbecue. You're having a cook out!"
Jamie and I started to laugh as we realized that we had just been lectured by a true southerner on something that we Utahns had clearly been getting wrong our whole lives. I wasn't sure what "real barbecue" was, but I had clearly never had it and he wanted to make sure that we fixed our mistake. We readily apologized for our offensive mistake and were shown to the room where we would be staying so that we could get settled before dinner.
"Jamie, this place is so nice!" we looked around the room and took the opportunity to relax and visit for a minute while we were alone.
"I know. And did you notice that they had full house stairs?"
"They have what?"
"You know! The stairs like on Full House. The kind that go up in one room and come down in another."
I started to laugh as it dawned on me what she was saying.
"Oh yeah, I did notice that. That is so funny that you call it that." I grabbed my bottle of vitamin C and popped another tablet in my mouth.
"Are you feeling any better?" She had been the one that suggested the vitamins when I told her I felt a cold coming on.
"Yeah, a little I guess. I don't feel any worse, so maybe this'll be as bad as it gets. Maybe after I get a good nights rest I'll feel better. It's just been a long day and I didn't get a ton of sleep last night."
"I hear ya. Hey, we better get down there for dinner."
My mind was racing for any way to get out of the meal without being rude, but Chris was right. I couldn't offend these people who were being so kind to me and we had been instructed to be extremely courteous to our host families. I started to rub my hands together nervously as I stood up from the bed and followed Jamie down for dinner.
* * * * * * * * *
"I just can't believe how green everything is."
After dinner they offered to take us on a tour of Columbia. I was excited to get out and see more of South Carolina, and be distracted from the mess inside my head. Unfortunately, the distraction part never came. Just more opportunity for stress and negative thoughts. When we got out of the vehicle I found myself staring at a sign that said Cold Stone. I had never heard of it, but it was apparent that it was an ice cream shop of some sort. I scratched my arm several times and followed the group into shop. The smell of waffle cones immediately overwhelmed me. It smelled so good, but I wanted to scream. I was frustrated and didn't know how to escape the situation. I didn't want to make a scene, but I also wanted to run out of there as fast as I could. No more food! I didn't want anymore.
"I love this place! It is so good. Have you ever been here before? What are you going to get?" Jamie's words brought me back to reality.
"Uh, no. I've never been here. I don't know what to get, but maybe I just won't have any. I'm still pretty full from dinner."
"Of course you're having some! You've never had it before and we're offering you some, so you're going to have some." I smiled at my "host dad" as his larger than life personality came into our conversation. I was beginning to see how he was such a successful lawyer. "Now, do you want some recommendations or have you decided what you want."
I followed Jamie's lead as she picked an ice cream flavor and a treat to have mixed in with it. I spent a lot of time stirring the ice cream around and slowly taking small bites, trying to please the family who had paid for it, but also trying not to eat very much of it. Conversations were happening around me, yet I had no idea what was being said. I kept a pleasant smile on my face, trying to hide the war being waged within.
We all piled back into the SUV and continued our tour. As the sun was getting closer to setting, we pulled in front of the building I recognized immediately. Though I had never been to this particular location, there is no mistaking when you are looking at a temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The immaculately kept landscaping surrounded the white building. Though it wasn't as big as the temples I was used to seeing in Utah, it's majesty was not diminished in the least. I marveled at how even the outside of a building can show so much power, reverence, and beauty; it glows, almost as if to let those who see it know the incredible work being done on the inside. We drove away from the temple and I turned my head to get one last glimpse.
We received quite the tour of the city, full of commentary from our host family who had lived there many years. That's when I realized I couldn't wait any longer. The water I had been drinking all day to hopefully help me get over my cold, had led to an intense feeling of needing to go the bathroom. It hit rather suddenly, but I convinced myself that I could hold it until we got back to the house. Once it became clear that this tour was going to outlast my bladder, I came to the conclusion that the situation had reached emergency status and action needed to be taken.
"Would it be possible for us to stop somewhere so I can use the restroom?"
"We were just at Cold Stone! Why didn't you go when we were there?!" His words sounded just like the lectures that so many young children had received from their parents. Jamie and I gave a little laugh, but I wasn't ready to give up yet.
"That was forever ago! I've been holding it for a long time as it is." I smiled as I gave it the best whiny teenager sound to add to the humor of the situation.
"Well, you're just going to have to hold it a lot longer, because we're not stopping."
I'm sure he expected this to be the final word on the matter, but I was in pain and knew I wouldn't hold out much longer. I had to give it one more shot.
"These seats sure look nice. What is this? Leather?" I asked, giving the seats a gentle caress. I looked up to notice him looking at me in the rear view mirror and I raised my eyebrows at him.
I knew he had understood my threat by the way he slammed on his breaks, made an illegal u-turn, and pulled into the nearest convenience store. Jamie was roaring with laughter the whole time. All the women got out of the car and made our way to the restroom, laughing all the way.
* * * * * * * * *
More crunches. You need to do more crunches. You are so disgusting. You probably gained ten pounds today. You should have tried harder to get out of eating that food. What a horrible disgusting pig! You need to find a way to fix this. You are so fat. Everyone is going to be able to tell how much you've eaten. Work out more. You better fix this. why are you so disgusting?
I continued to do crunches, pilates, squats, running in place, and any other exercise I could think of while Jamie was in the bathroom getting ready for bed. Sitting alone in the room was too much. I took note of how my pajamas were fitting on my body. I began to breathe quickly and tears welled up in my eyes as my hands shakily moved across my stomach and felt how much bigger it felt than it had before my girls weekend. I got back down on the ground and began another set of crunches.
"What are you doing?" Jamie walked back into the room with a light hearted laugh. I mustered up a half smile as I continued to do the only thing keeping the stress under control.
"How many calories do you think was in that ice cream?" I couldn't hold back the desperation in my voice, but hoped she didn't notice.
"I don't know. Maybe a few hundred? Are you ok?" She must have noticed the look of terror on my face as she gave her best guess as to how many calories were in the ice cream. My head was spinning as I tried to think through what I would need to do to burn all of that off.
"Yeah, I have just broken a lot of my diet rules in the last two days and it's kind of stressing me out. I need to be better tomorrow. I'm probably going to need to work out a lot every night."
"Ok." She looked at me, seeming almost unsure of how to react. "Are you almost done? Do you think we need to go say goodnight?"
"I guess we should." I rolled onto my stomach to stretch my core after finishing another 100 crunches. I lay on the ground as I finished, realizing just how exhausted I was from the days adventures.
"Hey, let's go down the full house stairs when we go to say goodnight to them." We both started laughing at how ridiculous we were, but I was secretly excited to down the other set of stairs as well.
We started down the hallway in the opposite direction we had taken to get to the room. My thoughts were on what kind of things I could say to the wonderful host family as we approached the stairs, glad that I had thought to put socks on my freezing feet. My right foot stepped down on the first step and my stomach turned as I felt my foot slip forward. I continued to slide down the stairs in the most unbecoming fashion. By the time I was able to grab hold of something and bring myself to a stop, I was almost at the bottom. I was clinging desperately to the railing and tried to make sense of what just happened. My right leg was stretched out below me, pain screaming from my shins. My left leg was directly behind me in an awkward position due to the upward slant of the stairs. The last time I had done splits was as a young child on the dance team. All the exercising and stretching I'd been doing over the last few months had not prepared me for the pain my body was experiencing after being forced to do the splits on some newly polished hard wood stairs.
I continued to quickly assess the damage, looking to Jamie for help, only to see her sitting at the top of the stairs laughing uncontrollably. I think it was at that moment that I knew we were going to be good friends. I simultaneously wanted to slap her for being a jerk and hug her for helping me see the humor of my awkward moment. I started to laugh right along with her. We heard our host mother come rushing around the corner.
"I've gotta go! Someone just fell down my stairs!" She appeared at the bottom of the stairs, pulling her black cordless phone away from her ear. Hearing her exclamation to her friend on the other line screamed out in her southern accent started another round of laughing fits from both Jamie and I. I clumsily found a way to get both of my legs facing the same direction, pulled myself into a standing position, and carefully hobbled down the last few steps; doubling over in laughter once I reached the bottom.
"Are you ok?!" Our host mother had clearly not reached the point of seeing the humor of the situation. So I collected myself enough to splutter out the embarrassing story of how I took a very quick trip down their full house stairs. We all giggled our good nights to each other and decided against trying to make the trek up the stairs of death, opting instead for the safe carpeted stairs.
That night, as Jamie and I lay in bed, we talked a lot and laughed even more. We discussed many things and found that we had more in common than we had originally thought. Both of us were a little bit shy, so we decided to make a goal to help each other come out of our shells. This tour was going to be a turning point for both of us. We talked late into the night until our exhaustion overcame us. I smiled as my eyes finally stopped fighting to stay open. It had been a long time since I'd laughed this much. I tried to picture what I looked like falling down those stairs. Giving a quiet laugh, I rolled onto my side and drifted off to sleep.
* * * * * * * * *
The hot water felt good on my exhausted body. The few hours of sleep I'd had, though restful, weren't enough. I knew the instant I woke up that something was wrong. I hoped that a hot shower would remedy the problem. I breathed in the steam deeply, realizing that it was no use. My voice was gone.
I finished getting ready and walked back into the bedroom. I explained to Jamie what was wrong through a series of whispers and squeaks.
"Maybe it'll get better as the day goes on." Her cheerful attitude made me more hopeful than I had been.
"Yeah, maybe. What use am I going to be on a choir tour if I don't have any voice?" I could hardly get sound out to talk, I didn't even want to know what I sounded like when I tried to sing.
We hauled all of our luggage down the stairs. I knew what was waiting for us and I tried to think up excuses. I had been trying to think up excuses all morning. I looked at the cereal on the counter. I poured some milk over the frosted mini wheats and began stirring. I took a few bites, angry that I was doing so. I made some excuse about not having much of an appetite and we got in the car to go to the rendezvous before traveling to Charleston.
Each step I took reminded me of my graceful fall down the stairs the night before. My right leg ached from ankle to thigh. Lately, any small bump on the skin was causing bruises that had a hard time healing, so I anticipated that this newly forming bruise was going to be large and not go away for a very long time. Walking around Charleston was amazing. The slave markets, the brightly colored houses, and the history of the city all offered so much for me to take in.
Every stop we made gave me no option but to fall in love with the south. The people were so endearing and were always so kind and welcoming. The beautiful, old buildings surrounded by the green landscape mixed with brightly colored flowers created a feast for the eyes. I never wanted to leave. We followed this same schedule every day: get on the bus, go to a tourist destination in a new city, sight see, do random performances for people we met on the street, put on a full length show every night, meet our new host family, go to their home and sleep, wake up and start over again. Each day I woke up more exhausted than the day before, yet excited to see what the day would bring. I also began to love getting to know each new host family. Jamie and I had so much fun staying with the kind members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
"Do you want to see our pet hamsters?" The young girls were so excited to have us in their small home. They had been at our performance and the entire family seemed so happy to have two young women from Utah join them for the evening.
"Sure." Jamie was so good at finding common ground with the families and showing so much interest in whatever they wanted to share with us. I tried to follow her example, but sometimes it was just a bit too much for me. The girls led us to their room to show us the cage where they kept their hamsters.
"We breed them." The oldest of the girls enthusiastically told us.
"Wow! That's cool." I was so glad that she was able to be so interested. All I could manage was a half smile and a barely audible "hmmm" as I bent down to feign interest in the little creatures that reminded me too much of mice.
"That ones eyes are red because it's mom and dad are brother and sister."
My eyes popped open as I looked at the tiny hamster with the flaming red eyes. I looked at Jamie as she offered some sort of remark, but could tell she was just as in shock as I was. She was doing a much better job of hiding her laughter than I was. I turned my head and covered my mouth, but it was no use.
I finished getting ready and walked back into the bedroom. I explained to Jamie what was wrong through a series of whispers and squeaks.
"Maybe it'll get better as the day goes on." Her cheerful attitude made me more hopeful than I had been.
"Yeah, maybe. What use am I going to be on a choir tour if I don't have any voice?" I could hardly get sound out to talk, I didn't even want to know what I sounded like when I tried to sing.
We hauled all of our luggage down the stairs. I knew what was waiting for us and I tried to think up excuses. I had been trying to think up excuses all morning. I looked at the cereal on the counter. I poured some milk over the frosted mini wheats and began stirring. I took a few bites, angry that I was doing so. I made some excuse about not having much of an appetite and we got in the car to go to the rendezvous before traveling to Charleston.
Each step I took reminded me of my graceful fall down the stairs the night before. My right leg ached from ankle to thigh. Lately, any small bump on the skin was causing bruises that had a hard time healing, so I anticipated that this newly forming bruise was going to be large and not go away for a very long time. Walking around Charleston was amazing. The slave markets, the brightly colored houses, and the history of the city all offered so much for me to take in.
Every stop we made gave me no option but to fall in love with the south. The people were so endearing and were always so kind and welcoming. The beautiful, old buildings surrounded by the green landscape mixed with brightly colored flowers created a feast for the eyes. I never wanted to leave. We followed this same schedule every day: get on the bus, go to a tourist destination in a new city, sight see, do random performances for people we met on the street, put on a full length show every night, meet our new host family, go to their home and sleep, wake up and start over again. Each day I woke up more exhausted than the day before, yet excited to see what the day would bring. I also began to love getting to know each new host family. Jamie and I had so much fun staying with the kind members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
"Do you want to see our pet hamsters?" The young girls were so excited to have us in their small home. They had been at our performance and the entire family seemed so happy to have two young women from Utah join them for the evening.
"Sure." Jamie was so good at finding common ground with the families and showing so much interest in whatever they wanted to share with us. I tried to follow her example, but sometimes it was just a bit too much for me. The girls led us to their room to show us the cage where they kept their hamsters.
"We breed them." The oldest of the girls enthusiastically told us.
"Wow! That's cool." I was so glad that she was able to be so interested. All I could manage was a half smile and a barely audible "hmmm" as I bent down to feign interest in the little creatures that reminded me too much of mice.
"That ones eyes are red because it's mom and dad are brother and sister."
My eyes popped open as I looked at the tiny hamster with the flaming red eyes. I looked at Jamie as she offered some sort of remark, but could tell she was just as in shock as I was. She was doing a much better job of hiding her laughter than I was. I turned my head and covered my mouth, but it was no use.
* * * * * * * * *
I didn't want to see our time in South Carolina end. So many wonderful and fun things had happened there and I knew I would miss being there as we made our way to North Carolina. Each night that I was unable to sing in a performance became more and more frustrating. I began feeling that I shouldn't have even come. What difference was I even making? I wasn't contributing to the performances in anyway. All I could do was mouth the words. And on top of it all, I was having to eat way more food than I was comfortable with. I was able to witness so many beautiful miracles, which made me happy. However, being unable to be a part of everything was breaking my heart. I wanted to feel like I was bearing testimony of the Savior, His atonement, and the gospel through song. Instead I was lip synching and watching everyone else doing all the work.
* * * * * * * * *
I am a child of God and He has sent me here,
Has given me an earthly home with parents kind and dear
Lead me, guide me, walk beside me, help me find the way.
Teach me all that I must do to live with Him someday.
I am a child of God, and so my needs are great;
Help me to understand His words before it grows too late
Lead me, guide me, walk beside me, help me find the way.
Teach me all that I must do to live with Him someday.
I am a child of God. Rich blessings are in store;
If I but learn to do His will, I'll live with him once more.
Lead me, guide me, walk beside me, help me find the way.
Teach me all that I must do to live with Him someday.
The amount of sleep I got was never enough. Though the morning was bright and cheerful, my attitude was not. I was exhausted. I didn't want to sight see anymore, I just wanted to sleep. I was contemplating asking permission to stay on the bus and sleep instead of touring the Airborne Museum in Fayetteville, North Carolina, when I heard an excited shout from Jaron, one of the other choir members. Looking out the window to my left I noticed a group of soldiers all standing at attention. Some were American, but there were many more that were obviously from somewhere else.
"They're Korean!!" Jaron could hardly contain himself. He had served his mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in South Korea. Spending two years serving the people of that nation had obviously left a lasting impression on him. He was off the bus and running before the rest of us were even out of our seats.
We were all smiling and laughing at Jaron's reaction. I pulled myself up out of the bus seat that I was getting used to spending so much time in. Positive that I wouldn't enjoy myself due to being tired and sick, I forced myself off the bus and made my way into the museum. Jamie and I walked around looking at everything there was to see and experience. I found that the more I interacted with others and moved around the less I seemed to notice my exhaustion. I love learning about history and the Airborne Museum had plenty to offer. Every once in a while we would see some Korean soldiers walking around with Jaron. It was fascinating to hear him speaking their native language. The tour guide told us how the soldiers were in America training with our paratroopers and as the tour went on I noticed a sense of excitement spreading.
Word finally reached us that our director had decided that we were going to put on an impromptu performance for the visiting soldiers. As the theme of our show was based on patriotism, it seemed fitting. However, we decided to sing one more song that we hadn't prepared for our show at all. We started by singing a medley of the hymns from the different branches of the U.S. military. It was always amazing to see how much people enjoyed to hear the songs that were so familiar to them and brought such a sense of pride for those that fight for our freedom, but it was the unplanned song that changed everyone's lives that day.
The song we chose was familiar to all of us in the choir, and is extremely well known to all members of the church. It was decided that we would all sing the first verse together, but that we would gently hum the second verse while Jaron sang the words in Korean. As we started, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. After all this was a song that we had sung since we were old enough to speak.
I am a child of God and He has sent me here,
Has given me an earthly home with parents kind and dear
As with every other performance we'd done, I had tried the best I could to make any kind of sound. I was managing a few whispered notes, but not much else. We continued:
Teach me all that I must do to live with Him someday.
Though we hadn't practiced this song previously, I noticed how the children's song we all adored sounded particularly beautiful with the unified voices of everyone in the choir. The large atrium in which we were singing seemed to take the sound and magnify it all around the room. There was such a reverence felt in the room, and as we started into the second verse no one was prepared for what would happen. We quietly hummed and Jaron's beautiful tenor voice began singing out the familiar words in Korean.
Help me to understand His words before it grows too late
Lead me, guide me, walk beside me, help me find the way.
Teach me all that I must do to live with Him someday.
From the very beginning of the verse, a feeling spread around the room. It was so powerful and strong. My bottom lip began to quiver and what little sound I was making was choked by the unexpected tears of joy. I looked to the soldiers standing on the other side of the atrium and noticed tears streaming down all of their faces as well. The feeling of love in that room was undeniable. Understanding the meaning of the words helped us all to know the truthfulness of the message we were trying to spread. As we all joined in on the third and final verse, I realized that I didn't want this moment to end.
If I but learn to do His will, I'll live with him once more.
Lead me, guide me, walk beside me, help me find the way.
Teach me all that I must do to live with Him someday.
The final note echoed into silence and no one moved. No one wanted to interrupt the spirit that was with us testifying of our Saviors love for us. The general stepped forward and began speaking. Jaron translated his words for us.
"Thank you for sharing with us such heavenly and angelic music. We came here to train with your country, and after hearing this I now know that we can trust you."
He then proceeded to award Jaron and our director with medals from their country. After we were done with all of this we visited with the foreign guests. It was incredible to hear stories of how some of them wanted to contact our missionaries as soon as they got home, or explained how they had never felt the way that they had felt that day and wanted to know what it was. I couldn't stop smiling as I watched friendships being made and love being shared between people from different sides of the world who didn't fully understand each other through the spoken language.
Earlier that morning I had to force myself to get off the bus, but as we were instructed that we had to go to our next performance destination I had to force myself to leave the museum. I hoped that I could keep this feeling with me for the rest of the day.
That night the thoughts began again. What should have been such a highlight from the day was quickly taken away by my thoughts.
You didn't even contribute to what happened today. Nothing that you're doing on this tour is helping. Your voice is the only thing that makes you worth anything and you don't have that right now. You're useless. It's because you are eating so much food. Why did you even come. No one wants you here. You're just wasted space. You are worthless. You are useless.
I silently began praying: "Heavenly Father please help me. Why am I on this tour? I've been looking forward to this all semester, I don't want to leave here feeling like I didn't have a purpose here. Please let me be of some use. I am so grateful to be here and witness everything that is going on, but I want to contribute, not just see everyone else doing all the work. Please let me share my testimony. Please help me get my voice back. Please."
* * * * * * * * *
Tour continued and I pushed myself to keep doing what I could. Jamie and I definitely started to come out of our shells more. I dare say that some may even referred to us as 'obnoxious'. But after a life time of feeling like I couldn't really come out of my shell, it felt good to let my carefree side show it's lovely face for a bit. The bruise on my leg had turned a deep blue and was still tender to the touch. Each step caused a slight pain that made me smile remembering how I'd received the giant, painful discoloration on my skin. Jamie constantly had me laughing. Especially the night I met her dad.
Jamie had received permission to spend one of the nights of tour at her fathers house instead of with a host family. Since he lived in North Carolina it was a fun chance for her to spend time with him. After our performance, we went back to his place. I was so ready for bed. We would be sleeping in her little sisters room. He had so kindly set up an extra mattress up on the floor, which Jamie offered to take so that I could have the twin bed. It was a comfortable bed, with a single sheet covering it. I curled up and began trying to fall asleep, but the air conditioning was blowing right on me and the sheet wasn't enough to warm my body. I didn't want to wake Jamie up. I could tell by her breathing that she was sound asleep, but I couldn't take the shivering any longer.
"Jamie." I whispered it as gently as I could. No movement.
"Jamie." I tried to be a little bit louder. Nothing.
I reached over the edge of the bed and gently tapped on her shoulder as I said her name one more time.
"Hmmm?" Her groggy response was music to my ears. I was finally going to get warmth.
"I'm sorry I woke you up, but I am freezing. Do you have an extra blanket somewhere that I can have?
Her reply wasn't quite what I was expecting from the kind and caring person I'd come to know over the last week and a half.
"The only blanket I have is the one I'm using!" Her annoyed tone of voice reminded me of the way mean girls talk to their victims. Once she finished her speaking, she rolled over and quickly went back to sleep. I stared at her, stunned by the way she had just talked to me. I was kind of hurt by the way she treated me. I wrapped the sheet as tightly around my body as I could, then curled up in a ball, hoping that sleep would somehow find it's way to me that night.
"Did you sleep alright last night?" I couldn't believe she was seriously asking how I slept.
"Um, not really. I was kind of cold."
"Why didn't you ask for another blanket?"She seemed surprised that I hadn't thought to do that. I was so confused.
"Jamie, I did. You got snippy with me and told me the only one you had was the one you were using."
"I don't remember this AT ALL!" She couldn't contain her laughing.
"You mean you were talking in your sleep?! You have got to be kidding me!" I was laughing now as well.
"Just so you know, you're kind of a jerk when you sleep talk."
We laughed about that one all day long. We also ended up with the most entertaining woman I have ever met in my life as a host mom. She was a single woman and was obviously so excited to have us be in her home. Two other girls in our choir were staying with one of her neighbors and she invited them over to get in her hot tub. I hadn't even packed a swimming suit. There was no way that I was ever going to let anyone see just how huge I was. The thought terrified me. I sat on a chair just outside the hot tub while everyone else enjoyed the hot water.
"Do ya know what? What do all ya'all think of Tom Cruise? I think he is just drippin'!"
We busted out in a chorus of laughter. None of us had ever heard such a phrase. What does that even mean? She was just so friendly and said whatever came to her mind. I wished that I could be like her. She just seemed so down to earth and didn't care what others thought of her. She was who she was and she didn't apologize for it. I think that's what made her so charming, in her own unique way. She had water beds for us. I was so excited. I had never slept on a water bed, but had often wished I could've when I was a child. I sat down on the bed and looked around the room. That's when I spotted the most peculiar thing. My laughter turned to a wheeze as I quickly went to the room next door to find Jamie.
"Hey, you have to come take a picture of this. You won't believe it."
"What is it?"
"Just come and see."
I guided her back to my room, took the item off the shelf and modeled it for Jamie, just the way the girls on The Price is Right do.
"White Trash Soap. Where do people come up with the stuff?!"
Jamie snapped a picture and we started giggling as we discussed all of the fun things that our host mom had said and done. The next morning she gave each of us a sack lunch. A giant sack lunch. She obviously wanted to make sure that we were well fed. Even the way she packed our lunch and the things she put in it reflected her personality. She even put a keychain in there for us that had the state bird on it. Our host families really taught me a lot about seeing the good in people and how it's possible to love others so quickly. Her kindness reflected the way that we had been treated by all of our host families. It was beautiful.
* * * * * * * * *
The tour had come to an end. It was an exhausting yet spiritually uplifting experience. I had been able to visit so many wonderful places: the Biltmore Estate, the Mansfield Plantation, and Fort Sumter. I had so much fun making friends with those in the choir and on the dance team and being able to meet so many incredible people who were willing to take us into there homes. Over all it had been a wonderful experience.
On the bus ride back to the airport I stared out the window. There was still the nagging feeling that I was unable to be of any use throughout tour. I hadn't been a missionary and witnessed of the truthfulness of the gospel. I hadn't been able to use my talent at all. Though my voice had begun to return slightly I was only able to sing a few songs for our final performance. I was saddened that I couldn't have done more. I tried to think of other reasons that I was supposed to come on tour. I found comfort knowing that I had found such a good friend. Jamie and I hardly knew each other at the beginning of the semester, but by the end of tour we knew so much about each other and had helped each other be outgoing and create a fun environment for others. I really was so grateful that I'd been able to meet her because of tour. It was a good reason to come on tour, but it still didn't help get rid of the nagging feeling that I was useless.
* * * * * * * * *
We pulled into the rest area to stretch our legs. Even though I didn't have a need to go to the bathroom I figured that I'd better go anyway since we still had a two hour drive to the airport. It felt good to get off the bus and walk around. I made my way to the bathroom and was surprised that there weren't more of us fighting to get in. There were only a couple of the choir members in the bathroom when I heard to women talking loudly as they entered.
"Look at all those young people! Where do you think they're from?"
"I don't know, but look - they're all wearing the same shirts. I wonder if they're doing a tour of some sort."
"I smiled as they turned the corner to see me standing there washing my hands.
"We're from Utah." I smiled at them.
"Oh really? What're you all doing here?" They seemed so interested in us that I kind of chuckled as I began to explain what we were doing here.
"We're actually on our way home. We're a group of performers from the Ogden LDS Institute of Religion. We've been out here touring for the last ten days." It is usually so difficult for me to talk to strangers, but this was different. I had given this same introduction a few other times while on tour, but I was never by myself. When I started feeling awkward there was always someone else to carry the conversation. This time I was alone, but I didn't start getting that uncomfortable feeling.
"What kind of performers? What's the LDS Institute of Religion?" I couldn't believe they were this interested.
"Most of our group are choir members, but we also have a few members of the folk dance team with us. The LDS institute of religion is like a school for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints. Many of us are going to college at Weber State University so it's nice when we can go to the institute and take classes to learn more about the Savior. This choir and folk dance team are part of the institute. Have you ever heard of our church?" I had never been so bold about talking about my religion with strangers.
"No, I don't think we have. So you guys are a choir, huh? Would you be willing to sing a song for us?"
"Of course! Just let me go get everyone together and talk to our director."
"Really? Oh that would be so wonderful. We're just going to use the restroom. Don't start without us!"
"Haha, we won't."
I quickly walked out and told the story of meeting these two women in the bathroom to our director. The choir was excited to have one last chance to perform. Someone ran back to the bus to see if there were any copies of The Book of Mormon left to give to these two women. Amazingly, there were exactly two copies left, with only two pass along cards. The choir had begun singing as one of the dancers handed me the books. He excitedly told me that these were the last two copies we had left. A small tear came to my eye. I smiled as I looked down at the books that contained so much truth and light. I walked over to the women after the performance.
"That was just wonderful! Your choir is so good. Thank you for singing for us, even if it is at a rest stop."
We all laughed.
"It was our pleasure. As I was telling you before, we are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I wanted to give you both a copy of the Book of Mormon. This book is a sacred record that testifies of the love our Savior has for us and the hope that His atonement brings to all of us." I couldn't stop smiling. "I just wanted to testify to you that I know that the things contained in this book are true. That the gospel of Jesus Christ is true and will bring us everlasting joy."
"Oh you are such a sweet girl. Thank you, thank you for sharing that with us. Will you put your name and phone number in our books? You are just so sweet. We are so glad we met you!" They were hugging me and we were all crying at this point. We said our goodbyes and as I was walking back to the bus everyone in the choir came and gave me a hug. Many of them knew I was frustrated that I wasn't able to spread the gospel through singing.
On the drive to the airport I said another prayer thanking my Father in Heaven for this beautiful tender mercy. I may not have been able to use my singing voice, but He had taught me that I don't always need to sing to use my voice. I was so grateful that I had been given this opportunity. I realized why I was supposed to come on this tour. In addition to meeting Jamie, I needed to meet these two women. At that moment I knew that my prayers were heard and that I was loved. In retrospect, that moment needed to happen. I needed to feel that love and know that He was mindful of me. I think I was given that moment because He knew what was coming.
* * * * * * * * *
I dragged my tired body into the quiet apartment. It was so late and it had been a long day. I opened the door to my bedroom, dumped all of my stuff on the floor, changed into my pajamas, and walked to the bathroom. I switched the light on and closed the door behind me. I looked to the floor and saw it sitting there waiting for me. I had gone ten days without weighing myself. Ten exhausting, frustrating, food filled days. All thoughts of friendship were gone. All thoughts of spiritual experiences were fading. I had to know. I stepped on the scale, lifted my posture, and stared directly at the wall in front of me. It was my ritual. I didn't like to see the electronic numbers jumping all over the place. I stared at the wall a few seconds then took a deep breath.
"No. No! No! NO!" My body fell to the ground. I was on my knees in front of scale. I wrapped my arms around my head and began rocking back and forth as the sobs overcame me.
Look at how much you gained! You are so disgusting. You shouldn't have gone on that tour! Nothing good came of it. You just became the disgusting, fat, slob that you are. How could you have let yourself gain eight pounds?! No one gains that much in ten days. Look at how ugly you are. All you did was eat the whole time. You shouldn't have been eating. Everyone saw what a pig you are. Every time you put food in your mouth people thought about how disgusting you are. You don't deserve to eat. Look what happens when you do. You are so ugly! Eight pounds! You are seriously so disgusting. You are worthless.* * * * * * * * *
The blond young woman sat on the twin bed she'd been assigned.
"How long have I been here?" she thought to herself as she looked around the room.
She stared at the space she'd been given for her clothes as the sounds of her roommate getting ready for bed shook her out of her thoughts. The shoes she'd had to buy before coming here caught her attention. No shoe laces.
"How did I get here?"
She opened her journal to the next available page. She read her entry from the night before before writing the days date at the top of the page. July 24, 2004.
"Ten days. I've been here ten days."
That date used to be a day of fun and celebration for the blond young woman. Her family would gather at her grandparents house to celebrate Pioneer day. The day the pioneers reached the Salt Lake Valley. That didn't even cross the girls mind on this day. It was only used as a day to count her time in this place.
July 24, 2004
I don't even know what to write about. Today was just so weird. My family came. It went better than expected. I got to see Eric, which cheered me up immensely. He is so cute. I haven't been doing too well with my body image. Things are kind of mixed up right now. Triggers are all over. I hate food. Sometimes I just want to throw it at the wall. I got more mail. Jamie wrote me a letter. I love her. She is such a neat person. I miss her so much. She helped me out when I was discouraged. I hope I can see her soon.
The blond girl closed the journal and climbed under her covers.
"How did I get here?"
