January 14, 2014

I want a smaller nose...So I'm getting surgery...

To make myself good enough for [a person].

I want to change my life. I want to have a better life.

January 13, 2014

I used to think that I was different, didn't fit in, and felt alone. 

No I know that I am connected.

January 12, 2014

The first time I became a vegetarian, I had just gotten my first pet. He was a black cat named Romeo, because I had fallen instantly in love, and it was the most romantic name I could think of. Shortly after adopting Romeo, I was stopped in traffic on a highway, and there was a semi truck full of pigs stopped next to me. Their misery broke my heart. I didn't eat meat for seven years. But life happened, and I became disconnected from my compassion.

Prompted by an avalanche of family health problems, the documentary Forks over Knives inspired me to begin eating a whole-food, plant-based diet.  I am so fortunate that my husband is equally as excited to be thriving on an animal-free diet. I feel more compassionate, more environmentally aware, and happy to be setting a good example for our teenage son.

And once again, my affection for our two loving cats and our new little puppy is tied very closely to my desire to respect all animals. I can feel good about every meal I eat.

Submitted via email (wonderanewproject@gmail.com).

January 9, 2014

No I like myself just as I am

I want to be strong, built, and buff.

I don't want to change anything about myself.

I like how I am.

I love being weird.

I love my personality.

I love the way I act.

I love that I'm always happy.

 I want to change how insecure I am about myself.

January 8, 2014

I was only 10 minutes away from my house when my car malfunctioned and I drove off the overpass. I broke my neck, shoulder, ribs, got a traumatic brain injury, my lungs collapsed twice and I got a spinal cord injury.

At first I wanted to die, but I changed my perspective.

I came back to the university the following fall and have been working my butt off to graduate on time. I’ll be graduating .17 away from graduating with honors.

AND

Drum roll! I am going to walk across the stage.

I have been researching reciprocating gait orthotics (RGO) that will lock my ankle, knee, and hip in place, allowing me to displace my weight and ambulate across the stage J. I’m trying to bring in the community to help achieve my dream, which is why this Wonder Anew idea really struck me as an important endeavor for the participants. I think it would be really invigorating getting some weight off our shoulders and take that first step (cymbals *crash*).