Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Six-Hundred Minutes

Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes.

One year.

One year since I graduated the residential treatment center that saved my life.

One year since I took the human wreckage that was my body and entwined it with my soul.

One year since acknowledging that falling five-below rock bottom is the best sewing ground for new life.

Here I stand, progressing in my new life each and every day. With my feet on the ground and my head held high, knowing that each day fighting for myself and battling the eating disorder is me winning. Not for any reward or trophy - but me winning my life back.

It is not a coincidence that today I received a full-time job offer with Grassroots Los Angeles, partnered with Amnesty International. I will spend my time canvassing for refugee and animal rights worldwide in a political climate that has made these issues more pertinent than ever before. Now that I have fought for myself, I can fight for others.

Here's to five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred more.

"I wrestled by the sea A loneliness in me I asked myself for peace And found it at my feet Staring at the sea."

-Future Islands