How does a girl express gratitude to the person who helped guide her out of a 34 year struggle to find her health again? I have screamed all the screams and shed all the tears and prayed all the prayers to find answers to why my body wouldn’t behave cordially with me. Guess what? Not one single regret for those screams and tears and prayers because they and the universe somehow led me to you, and you have made the difference in my life that you will NEVER understand. I have been fighting this fight for so long that at times I hardly had the strength to go one more day. I thought I would break. On more than one occasion I thought long and hard about intentionally breaking myself for good.

My appreciation for you is abundant! You are this beautiful warrior that foraged ahead into territories unknown to find solutions that worked. You found real answers to exercise, weight, food, mental health and more. And, not only did you do this, but you found it in yourself to take a step back in your journey and help me fight the same fight. This is such a tremendous act of selflessness. Most people I know take the goodness and keep barreling ahead for more with no end in sight. Your confidence and guidance is magnetic, and I just knew I could trust you. Thank you for being vulnerable with me. Demonstrating your strengths and weaknesses. Teaching me all that you know without that awkward fear that I will by you by. Your outside beauty is obvious, but your inside beauty is like the floating trees in Pandora. I think of your self-awareness and willingness to observe and make mistakes and improve make you shine even brighter. I have struggled loving the fat girl in the mirror for so many years, and don’t get me wrong, I do love her BUT!!!...you have helped me change the image in my mind of a 300lb Jenny to a 175lb Jenny. You have changed my FUCKING world girl!

I have wished this wish for so long I began to wonder if there was a solution. I can breathe again. I can dream again. I can hope again. I can live again. The simple fact is that I can do these things because of your guidance and support and vigor and knowledge and grace and sass and peace and humility and abundance. Given the lemons that this life has handed you, at times, you have made the sweetest PINK lemonade and if you were any different, I would not be experiencing the success I am at this moment. Sonja, I am so very, very grateful for this success. I “see” you and honor you and love you (*not in an …”It’s not that kind of party!” kind of way.) You are proof that God loves me and that this Universe does collectively coincide and have my best interest at hand each breathe of the way. Let your light continue to shine bright as you are a beacon. You do not go unnoticed and I am the most blissed out girl that our paths have crossed,

Respectfully,

Jenny