Altogether Beautiful - A Blog by Katie Farr

A girl, just a sophomore in high school, sits in church alone on Sunday. She watches the service, then everything goes dark. She wakes surrounded by people, worried and frantic. She is taken to the hospital, and they tell her nothing is wrong, but she knows there is. Fast forward to the same girl during COVID, sneaking away downstairs to purge the dinner or dessert she just ate. This girl was me.

 

Throughout much of my high school experience I suffered from an eating disorder. This fact, that I can now admit to myself, has affected not only me but my family and friends as well. As a girl from Mid-Missouri eating disorders, education and treatment weren’t something that I was made aware of, which led me to never be diagnosed or receive treatment that could have saved me years of suffering.

 

My senior year I was given the opportunity to write and give a testimony about my experiences with an eating disorder to freshman girls. I was incredibly vulnerable, and my message made an impact not only on the students but the faculty as well. The principal pulled me aside afterwards and said the battle of self-worth is something she has fought every day for 36 years. While going through the writing process we were asked to find a bible quote that correlated to our story. “You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you.” Song of Solomon 4:7. This verse has been monumental in my recovery journey and has even become something bigger.

 

My freshman year of college, I decided to compete within the Miss America Organization to gain scholarships and grow as a young woman. I knew more advocacy for eating disorders was needed to help young girls and women just like the ones I shared my story with my senior year of high school. Once I decided to compete in the Miss America Organization, advocating for eating disorders is exactly what I wanted and needed to do. My own experiences with an eating disorder and the lack of awareness I saw as a young adult led me to create my initiative Altogether Beautiful: an eating disorder awareness initiative aimed at spreading awareness by educating, fundraising, and sharing my own journey with an eating disorder.

 

I have taken this disease that once dominated my life and turned it into an initiative to help others. With the verse at the core of my recovery held close to my heart, I will show all that I meet that they too are altogether beautiful.

If you wish to support my cause you can purchase merchandise from my online store using the link attached. The online store is only open through January 15th! 

https://theshirtsmith.net/altogetherbeautiful