Courage In The Midst Of A Storm
When I received my COURAGE key, I was in the worst place someone could be in. I was contemplating suicide, dealing with self-harm, an eating disorder and the demons of past abuse. I saw very little to live for in my life, but then my best friend gave me the key. As cheesy as it sounds, it unlocked a will to fight in me that I had not felt in a long time. I knew that someone cared. I wore the necklace every day for almost two years, and never thought that I would find someone who I cared so deeply about that I would be willing to part with the gift that had quite literally saved my life. Then Carly walked into my life and changed everything. I had slipped back into a quiet depression and a less violent eating disorder when I first started college. I met her and I had something to look forward to again; someone that made me understand how deeply I was cared for. She was dealing with a lot of personal issues, one of the most prevalent being the upcoming surgery of someone very close to her. I could not think of a better Christmas gift than to pass on my key; there was not even a sliver of doubt in my mind that it was the wrong person to give it to. The look on her face when I passed it on told me that my choice was the right one. She was so unbelievably thankful and that is all I needed. Seeing her wear it makes me so incredibly happy, I can’t even explain it. There is no one that needed the courage and strength more than she did at that moment, and I finally found the courage to pass it forward.